Tanglewood, Lenox, MA
August 23, 2014
by Michael J. Moran
The concluding Tanglewood weekend featured one of the
splashiest programs of the entire 2014 season. It opened with Berlioz’ “Roman
Carnival” Overture, closed with all three symphonic poems in Respighi’s Roman
Trilogy, and even Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” which
preceded intermission, was connected to Rome by Paganini’s several brief
periods of residence in the Eternal City.
Frequent Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) guest conductor
Charles Dutoit got the program off to a lively start with an exuberant account
of the tuneful Overture. Steeped in the French tradition, the orchestra and
their leader indulged this colorful score’s every opportunity for instrumental
display, but always with elegance and taste.
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| Charles Dutoit |
Russian-born pianist Kirill Gerstein then took the stage to
deliver a knockout performance of the Rhapsody. Gerstein’s youthful experience
as a jazz pianist may have inspired his freer than usual approach to the notes,
but it nicely reflected both Paganini’s style of virtuosic showmanship as a
violinist and Rachmaninoff’s as a pianist. Dutoit and the BSO were in total
rapport with their soloist, from the music’s witty quotations of the “Dies
Irae” plainchant to the soaring lyricism of the famous eighteenth variation.
The second half of the concert was devoted to a rare and
spectacular rendition of Respighi’s iconic cycle of tributes to the city he
loved. Dutoit programmed the individual pieces not in their order of
composition but for maximum dramatic impact: first, the garish but glitzy Roman
Festivals; next, the haunting and poetic Fountains of Rome; and, finally, the
towering, majestic Pines of Rome.
Detoit led his musicians almost without pause, remaining
onstage until the end, thus emphasizing their unity of spirit and sound. Dutoit
has an instinctive feeling for this flashy repertoire, and the huge orchestra
-- including multiple keyboards, an enlarged brass choir downstage right, and
an offstage trumpet -- expressed its varied colors with unfailing technical
command and surprising emotional depth.
The imaginative and intelligent programming by maestro
Dutoit of this and the next afternoon’s season-ending Beethoven program (why
aren’t the kindred Choral Fantasy and Ninth Symphony paired more often?) only
enhances the joy of hearing music in world-class performances at this uniquely
appealing venue.
