March 20, 2001
MUSIC REVIEW, New York Times
Esa-Pekka Salonen Serves Stravinsky --
Breezy, Fresh and Crunchy
By ANTHONY TOMMASINI
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This weekend Mr. Salonen presented two of those programs at Lincoln Center.
Sunday afternoon's concert by the Los Angeles Philharmonic offered all three of
the seldom-heard Stravinsky works for piano and orchestra, performed by the brilliant
pianist Olli Mustonen, and one repertory piece, "The Firebird." The
artistic consultants at most of American's major orchestras would likely have
warned Mr. Salonen against presenting such a formidable program on tour. New
York music lovers must be hungry for challenge, since they don't get much from
the New York Philharmonic. Avery Fisher Hall was nearly full, and the final
ovations were tumultuous.
Stravinsky's work for piano and orchestra are almost anti-concertos. By its
scoring alone, the Concerto for Piano and Winds (1924) is unconventional. It
presents Stravinsky in his neo-Baroque mode, though with crunchy harmony,
pummeling rhythm and craggy counterpoint. In the beguiling and stylistically
eclectic Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra (1929) Stravinsky evokes, in his
fractured way, both breezy Poulenc-like salon music and exotic modal Hungarian
gypsy dance. "Movements" for Piano and Orchestra (1959) is one of
Stravinsky's astringent and striking works in the 12-tone idiom. It's as if an
elaborate piano concerto has been compressed into 10-minutes of chiseled,
restless and elemental music.
To appreciate how seldom these works turn up, consider their performance
history at the New York Philharmonic. The orchestra played the Capriccio two
years ago under Kurt Masur, its first performance of the work since 1973; it
has never performed the other two.
Mr. Salonen and Mr. Mustonen, both being young, Finnish and composers, proved
to be natural collaborators. Their performances were integrated and purposeful.
Mr. Mustonen's very fluidic arm movements should not be taken as a sign of
pianistic flamboyance. His playing was typically incisive, intelligent and
spontaneous.
That Mr. Salonen's orchestra seemed so at home with Stravinsky's music would
not have surprised anyone who attended Friday's night's substantial chamber
music program at Alice Tully Hall by the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music
Group, which Mr. Salonen conducts. The highlight was an amazing performance of
"Abraham and Isaac," a pungent 12-tone setting of the biblical story,
in Hebrew, for baritone and chamber orchestra, here sung poignantly and with
the intensity of an Old Testament prophet by Sanford Sylvan, who performed the
formidable work from memory.
Though arresting to hear, and impressively played, Mr. Salonen's performance of
"The Firebird" ballet score would not have been easy to dance to.
Once the tempo of a section was set, it was unyielding. Episode after episode
of this familiar music seemed startlingly fresh, the result, it seemed, of a
composer/conductor's reconsideration of a score he clearly considers a landmark
of early 20th-century modernism. That Mr. Salonen's audience was no gathering
of Stravinsky fanatics became clear when the blazing climax of the
"Infernal Dance" was met with scattered applause and bravos from
people in the hall who mistakenly thought the performance was over.
As his second encore, Mr. Salonen played Stravinsky's dazzling and somewhat
mischievous arrangement of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Since people
were already on their feet for the standing ovation, they just kept standing
for the national anthem. But no one sang. They were too busy listening.