Smartly dressed in a grey suit and a pale pink tie and exuding a calm efficiency, Norwegian pianist Vikingur Ólafsson swept onto the stage. Expectation fizzed. A year on from traversing the world with a staggering number of performances of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations, it was time for a change. And what better way than a fun-filled week performing an eclectic mix of works for two pianos with Yuga Wang followed by Brahms’ First Piano Concerto on tour with Edward Gardner and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
The programme
Ólafsson plays Brahms’ Piano Concerto no. 1
Premiered in 1859, Brahms’ long orchestral introduction immediately channelled a world of doubt and despair. In response, the piano entranced with wonder. Before long though, the piano found the thunder, matching the sonorous orchestral accompaniment. This was not an overtly romantic reading, but one which drew the audience ever closer, finding those sometimes neglected harmonic subtleties. An inner peace radiated as the piano made the return to the opening theme, this time alone. Ólafsson visibly relished the complexity, bringing a quasi-Baroque precision to the contrapuntal texture before hurtling towards the end.
A wonderful calm descended in the Adagio. Long melodic lines basked in the romanticism as delicate countermelodies abounded. The strings, barely a whisper. The piano, naïve yet intensely intimate.
But ever the showman, Ólafsson literally sprang into action for the finale as he thrust himself forward into the orchestral fray. The brisk tempo however, still allowed for phrasing of great delicacy before an animated fugal passage took hold.
Ólafsson is such an interesting artist to see in the flesh and is perhaps quite different from the projected image. Full of nervous energy, he swayed round and round, his right foot quivering over the pedal with those long limbs impulsively tossed through the air.
Talking directly to the audience at the end, he shared his delight and appreciation of the beautiful Steinway in the Konzerthaus, Dortmund. Five curtain calls (and yes, the German audience were on their feet, which is rare!) and three encores later, it seemed he did not want to leave. It was a privilege to witness a pianist who still finds the wonder and joy in music-making. What will he do next?
The encores
The new commission
The evening started with Raices, (Roots ) a new commission from the LPO’s composer-in-residence, Tania León, essentially a series of fragments referencing her Cuban heritage. Jaunty American folk rhythms weaved amongst much twittering, rumbling and rustling, leaving a lone trombone ‘hymn tune’ to skilfully centre proceedings with glimpses of harmonic familiarity. Mad piano moments, where the pianist used the whole arm to repeatedly smash the keyboard, dispensed the shock and awe and would be well-placed in a horror film set.
The towering inferno
In a similar vein, ferocious second violins immediately set the tone in Bartók’s violent suite, The Miraculous Mandarin which unashamedly portrays the extremes of morality and ruthless eroticism. Sleazy, swooping trombones vied with a distant hum of trembling cellos and a torrent of wood-thrashing strings. A virtuosic clarinet stole the show. Unexpectedly, the music found a groove and felt spontaneous. All we needed were ballet dancers on stage to complete the mix.
Gardner revealed a vulnerable and addictive humanity in this otherwise brutal and vulgar language. His calm authority and fluid beat brought a quiet efficiency to the podium. And I did appreciate his well-cut suit. Incessant rhythms, with just a hint of the Sacrificial Dance from Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, culminated in overwhelming euphoria. A positive inferno in Dortmund, just a stone’s throw from Cologne where the work was premiered 102 years ago.
Further listening
Watch Edward Gardner rehearse Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin and talk about the central role the clarinet has in this work, played here by Ben Mellefonte.
Watch a snippet of Ólafsson playing Brahms in rehearsal with the LPO
A little history
Watch a 2004 recording of Daniel Barenboim play Brahms’ First Piano Concerto with Simon Rattle and the Berlin Phil in an outdoor concert in Athens. At the end, look very carefully and you may spy a rather young Ólafsson sitting in the audience with his now wife. Just brilliant!
Read more from Clare
This concert was reviewed in the Konzerthaus, Dortmund on Thursday 14th November, 2024
Follow Clare Varney on Facebook or Instagram to read more about Music, Food and Culture
