The stage was set, complete with tablet stands and obligatory foot-pedal page turners. As the Amsterdam Sinfonietta arrived at the Muziekcentrum, Enschede for a programme entitled “Homesickness for Italy”, all looked very smart. But confusion reigned from the outset. Who exactly was ‘homesick for Italy’ and where in the programme was this theme reflected? Yes, Tchaikovsky lived in Italy for three years from 1890 where he sketched an initial idea for a single theme from Souvenir de Florence, in-between work on his ballet, The Nutcracker. But the resulting four-movement string sextet, complete with Russian folk melodies, bears little Italian influence.Together with offerings by two Polish composers, Chopin and Weinberg, the latter of whom spent his working life living under the crippling public glare of Stalinist Russia, any thoughts of Italy seem rather tenuous.
Weinberg’s neglected Aria Op. 9 was over in a flash, and rather lacked the length of line found in recordings and performances by probably its most vocal advocate, conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, who included it as an encore earlier this year in concert with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. The programme also included Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto performed by Polish pianist and winner of the Chopin Competition in 2005, Rafał Blechacz.
The programme
The concerto
Matters did not improve as the Canadian pianist Bruce Liu (and winner of the Chopin Competition 2021) joined the stage for his reading of Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto in F minor, written when the composer was just twenty-years-old. Chopin originally scored the work for the strings, double wind, two horns, two trumpets, one trombone and timpani. However, his rather lack-lustre orchestration has been the subject of much discussion over the years. In fact, a number of arrangements exist, including a relatively new version by Russian conductor and composer, Mikhail Pletnev, premiered by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Danill Trifonov in Dortmund’s Konzerthaus in 2017.
Tonight’s performance featured another new arrangement for string orchestra by the young Dutch composer and arranger, Primo Ish-Hurwitz following a previous collaboration in 2023 with the Adagio from Mahler’s 10th Symphony. Would this new version conjure the strength and gravitas of the original score? And would it afford the soloist the weighty backdrop necessary to portray Chopin’s highly emotional language, full of youthful turmoil and uncertainty?
With Liu sitting slightly slumped on a high-backed chair, the very tentative orchestral opening did nothing to still the waters. The second theme, scored for just solo quartet, felt hollow and lacked the richness one might expect. However, with Liu in full flow, this clean and sparse string sound, appeared to suit his delicate and intimate interpretation. Nevertheless, it all felt a little too casual and fragmented, as piano and orchestra alike struggled to sustain the melodic line so vital to Chopin’s dramatic and declamatory style.
Liu did his best to tug at the heart strings in the Adagio’s sumptuous melody, however even here, his fleeting nonchalance, missing one too many melodic ornaments, and skating over flourishes instead of seeking the subtle (and not so subtle) longing and yearning, left a gaping hole which even the solo cello could not fill.
Things did not improve in the Finale which felt under-rehearsed. Despite an attractive col legno passage, intonation and ensemble suffered. The audience, nonetheless, gave a warm reception and were rewarded with an extract from Chopin’s Andante spinato et Grande polonaise brilliante Op. 22 for strings and piano in which all seemed much more at home. Maybe it was the arrangement after all?
The encore
The Italian moment
The evening’s conclusion, Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence evoked a much more polished sound. Clean contrapuntal passages and ebullient swells delighted all. Luscious chords, so absent in the Chopin, abounded. There is something strangely disquieting about hearing a piece closely associated with a popular TV programme – in this case, the classical music magazine, Podium Klassiek whose theme tune (the opening of this work, complete with a modified ending) fills many a Dutch home every Sunday evening at 6pm.
Irrespective of this, the storytelling on offer and the potent use of silence was compelling. British cellist, Tim Posner was on fire when duetting with Artistic Director and leader, Candida Thompson as they teased every morsel of the countermelody. Stark hammer-blows in the Finale foreshadowed an exciting conclusion. Where was this richness and depth of sound we yearned for in the Chopin? Perhaps they were saving it for another evening?
The tour
The musicians
Further listening
Mikhail Pletnev’s 2017 orchestration for the Mahler Chamber Orchestra
Watch a documentary on Medici TV to learn more about new orchestrations of Chopin’s two piano concertos.
Daniil Trifonov and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra perform Chopin’s Piano Concertos using new orchestrations made by conductor and composer, Mikhail Pletnev who “had a bitter feeling with regard to the orchestration,” so decided to orchestrate them himself so he could enjoy the music. Instead of long sustained orchestral notes, he introduced a dialogue. The MCO musicians remark that the orchestral part was both streamlined and enriched. Listen and decide for yourself.
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This concert was reviewed in the Muziekcentrum, Enschede on Thursday 29th March, 2025
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