4th August 2016
Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom
BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2
REINBERT DE LEEUW Der nächtliche Wanderer
Peter Serkin (piano)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Oliver Knussen (conductor)
"This is the worst performance I have ever seen in my life!" declared a Prom regular next to me, whose life, judging by appearance, must have been reasonably long. Indeed, one can probably fit the number of audience walking out of tonight's Prom to a Poisson distribution. Brahms' "Second Piano Concerto" is one of a kind. It is monumental and underneath its apparent understated homogenity it consists of continuous torrents of flourishing passion. It is intellectually stimulating as well as emotionally involved so it attracts more contemporary music specialists than most other Romantic concertos. Well, tonight's challengers were old partners Peter Serkin and Oliver Knussen, and one would not expect a particularly classical take from them. This is a performance completely devoid of vitality, and there was no sense of structure. The textures were all transparent and clear, but Knussen's accentuation of every single beat with minimal phrasing put Daft Punk's four-on-the-floor to shame, and Serkin's choice of tempo must have made his father very proud. I don't think I have ever heard any performance where the entire quorum comes to a complete halt between sections within the same movement. Perhaps it was all a nod to the title of the single work of the second half, "Der nächtliche Wanderer" (The Night Wanderer), by the Dutch Reinbert de Leeuw, who is better known as a pianist-conductor. It is an epic hour-long symphonic poem. Put simply, it is a colourful mood painting which amounts to an eventful psychedelic sonic journey. Cascading single pitches form chords that depict the static which contrast with sharp figures that represent the dynamic, with electronic contributions projected from the ceiling of RAH. It was beautifully conceived and nicely realised by the BBCSO, but clearly something only for the keen contemporary music lovers.
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