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Music is a better world
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(Hamburger Abendblatt) By Hans-Juergen Fink Rarely has an orchestra been so unanimously acclaimed for its Beethoven symphonies as the Tonhalle, Zurich, under its chief conductor David Zinman. On Friday the musical marvel of Switzerland made a guest appearance at the Laeiszhalle, unfortunately to only a half-capacity audience, a pity for those who missed the chance to hear an interpretation of the highest class. Zinman gave us an all-Beethoven programme, firstly the overture “Consecration of the House”. Even the first chords showed us what we were in for: dry, crisp explosions of tutti playing and in between pauses vibrating with energy. Zinman chose fast tempi throughout and went for precision and transparency, using original instruments in the brass, and bringing brilliance to this small and lesser known work. Yefim Bronfman came next with Beethoven’s 2nd Piano Concerto – this was attractive but the piano part was strangely uninspired and casual, with a withdrawn quality suggesting he didn’t want to be anything more than another orchestral line. Not until the encore did we hear a convincing appassionato take the place of excessive restraint, correcting the previous impression of weakness. For the main course it was Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony, remoulded, cleaned up and with tempi which even a radar-controlled speed-check would have had difficulty with. But the deliberate change to modern instruments in the brass worked well here: Zinman gave back to this classic favourite something sensational, original and extraordinary. Having clearly put in a huge amount of detailed work in rehearsal, he confined himself in performance to the most economical of gestures, which the orchestra followed with keen attentiveness and precision. The result was a performance which was surprising in its detail, fresh and pleasing. It drew long applause and stamping of feet, which was rewarded with Beethoven’s “Prometheus” overture for dessert.
DAVID ZINMAN |
