Péter Eötvös: Multiversum

7th February 2019
Royal Festival Hall, London, United Kingdom

SCHOENBERG Accompaniment to an Imaginary Film Scene
BARTÓK Dance Suite
STRAVINSKY Symphony in Three Movements
PÉTER EÖTVÖS Multiversum

Iveta Apkalna (organ)
László Fassang (Hammond organ)
Philharmonia Orchestra
Péter Eötvös (conductor)



I do not consider myself a fan of Eötvös' music, but for some reason I keep following his new works. By chance, I even bought a CD of his zeroPoints this morning without knowing this concert was on. As I wrote on 2nd October 2016, Eötvös' music, at heart, is just some convoluted ways of messing about with novel sonic clashes, and very often his discussion on the inspiration behind the work is more involved than the music itself, which vary greatly in quality but by and large very accessible and direct. The centerpiece of tonight's programme is the UK premiere of "Multiversum", which I actually heard on YouTube at work a few months ago. To be honest, it is a pointless piece unless heard live because of its spatial aspects, but it is a successful summation of the more admirable qualities of Eötvös' output. It is the latest addition to his series of space exploration works ("Cosmos" and "Seven") and is inspired by the ideas of multi-universe and string theory, so in the piece the orchestra is divided into groups of instruments and are scattered around the stage, constituting the parallel universes, and they have to battle against the beast that is the RFH organ and a Hammond organ, the sound of which is projected by different speakers located at various positions on the ceiling. As James McVinnie pointed out in the pre-concert talk, Eötvös deliberately contrasts the "quantised" acoustic sound of the pipe organ against the more colourful, continuous spectrum of the artificial electric counterpart, something that he also explores in the piano concerto "CAP-KO". The traveling sound from the speakers effectively generates a Doppler effect that represents the expanding universe. With all these conceptual setup, the composition is surprisingly sonically simple which consists mostly of very direct motifs and melodies and bold rhythmic punches. It was very pleasing to be engulfed by these thoughtful sounds that starts with a quote of /the/ Bach organ piece and ends with some "Daphnis et Chloé"-esque lush strings but otherwise they don't really do much. That is OK because the first half was pretty nauseating, due to the sumptuous juxtapositions of musical ideas. Schoenberg's "Accompaniment to an Imaginary Film Scene" is a rarity that I wonder why it is not performed more often. When hyper-romantic atonality meets epic storytelling in some committed playing you get an emotional thrill ride. It was followed immediately by the Bartók "Dance Suite", which would mess up your mind if you so decide to delineate the rhythms at the spot. It was the first time that I found transparency was a liability rather than an asset because frankly the performance was outstandingly functional but not very engaging. Granted, it is terribly difficult to pull off. The playing is so fine and sophisticated (if a bit thin, especially the brass) that it lacks the raw and rustic energy which would make it a life-changing performance. Stravinsky's "Symphony in Three Movements" was a saving grace but placing it after the Bartók was unforgiving to the feet-tapping audience. This mercurial music is where Philharmonia Orchestra's versatility shines most, and they were exceptional throughout from the motoric clarinet to the lyrical harp and piano. I think they will do just fine without Salonen, it's good for a change anyway.