Wow, what a show! They started out with Schubert's 2nd symphony, which they performed with a greatly reduced ensemble. Intermission, and then they did the Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde. That was frickin' unbelievable, and made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. What a string sound (and those horns)! That was followed by an object lesson on Bartok's expressionistic sounding "Miraculous Mandarin" (concert suite, without organ). Audiences like modern music in Berkeley, so that went over very well (wonder if it will go over so well in Costa Mesa?). That was followed by two encores that really showed off the strings: one of the slower "Slavonic Dances" (Dvorak), followed by the famous Brahms "Hungarian Rhapsody" that begins with a full forte from the strings (I forget which number). The unanimity and weight of sound from the strings has to be heard to be believed. After hearing them live for the first time in many years, I can actually understand why they don't always record so well. Somehow, the sound that they get just doesn't translate that well on to recordings. It's hard to explain. It's almost like it's too thick and too powerful. Live, that sound is crystal clear.
As for Bychkov, he conducted very well. Of all the numerous conductors I've seen the VPO perform with, I think they sounded the most in-sync with Bychkov. They always tried their best for Bernstein, but looked or sounded like that they weren't all that comfortable with him. Bychkov/VPO looked like the beginning of a new and possibly fruitful love affair.
I was speaking with a Russian man after the concert, and told him that I thought that Bychkov actually conducts better than Gergiev does. He agreed with me, and seemed to know quite a bit about ALL of the Russian conductors - both past and present.
All this bodes well for the Mahler 6, which I have a hunch is going to be beyond amazing.
Topic: OT: Bychkov/VPO in Berkeley, night 1 (Read 6991 times)