Critic’s Notebook: Klaus Mäkelä, Lisa Batiashvili, and the Oslo Philharmonic in Vienna

Also reviewed for Die Presse: TBD / Denkwürdiger Brutalismus im Konzerthaus

P. Tchaikovsky + Sibelius Violin Concerto(s) Lisa Batiashvili D.Barenboim, StaKap Berlin (DG, 2016) US | UK | DE

D. Shostakovich Symphony No.8 M.Jansons, Pittsburg SO (EMI/Warner, 2001) US | UK | DE

Memorable Brutalism at the Konzerthaus

Klaus Mäkelä and the Oslo Philharmonic thrill with Shostakovich and Batiashvili

You can tell already when you enter the foyer of the Konzerthaus that something special is afoot. The atmosphere is different, busier of course – and scents of different, rarer women’s perfumes are in the air. This was noticeable, again, on Thursday evening. The mere presence of the Oslo Philharmonic would not, in itself, have caused this. Star violinist Lisa Batiashvili playing the Tchaikovsky concerto might not have either; Vienna, after all, is spoiled as far as that sort of thing is concerned. And that Shostakovich’s – admittedly imposing – Eighth Symphony should generate such anticipatory excitement may, for as much as I love the composer, also be doubted. No: the magic ingredient in this musical potion was Klaus Mäkelä, whose much-praised skills Viennese audiences are fortunate enough to inspect – and, where appropriate, enjoy – with gratifying regularity. (Again in March at the Konzerthaus, with the Orchestre de Paris.)

It was Batiashvili’s artistry, however, that first took centre stage. She played Tchaikovsky’s evergreen concerto with rock-solid assurance, without contrived wildness or treacle. And yet nothing sounds generic in her hands: the concerto doesn’t simper; it is – as a former Presse critic once famously observed – being tugged, tussled, bruised. Batiashvili brings bite to the music – and a throaty tone that recalls, if you remember, Gianna Nannini. And still, for all her volcanic playing, it is beauty of sound that prevails. Some in the audiences [cough-cough] may have wondered whether, instead of Tchaikovsky, some other concerto might not once in a while be an option – Martinů’s Second, or Othmar Schoeck’s, for instance – but judging by the rapturous applause... not many. The encore (with orchestra), “Et Sæterbesøg” (“A Visit to the Mountain Pasture”) – by the “Norwegian Paganini” Ole Bull – at least pointed in that direction.

Not every classical music lover will be immediately enamoured of Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony. Written in 1943, it is a bloody dark work, even by DSCH’s standards. It lacks the earworms of the Fifth and Seventh, and the long first (of five) movement can, admittedly, get a bit long in the tooth. Even Prokofiev complained that he had to struggle to stay awake. All the more impressive, then, was the way the Oslo musicians under Mäkelä built – and sustained! – tension. The vehement, gripping opening with its sonorous low strings, above all, did not suffer from false restraint. Yes, it is wise to leave oneself room for the many climaxes. But what good is that if half the audience falls asleep in the meantime? The Konzerthaus' Great Hall, meanwhile, proved ideal for this music. It seemed to positively relish in the hellishly magnificent apocalypse of the third movement, beneath those massive tuttis. That, combined with superbly sounding strings (the violas – deliciously hollow and pallid in the third movement – primi inter pares), made for a truly memorable evening.

(This was the first of two concerts, with the second one (January 23rd)) combining Sibelius' Lemminkäinen Suite with DSCH-6.)

Photo by John-Halvdan Olsen-Halvorsen, courtesy Konzerthaus.

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