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University Centre Auditorium
March 5, 2010
"Show me an orchestra that likes its conductor and I'll show you a lousy conductor".
Although Goddard Lieberson - who had been responsible for the introduction of the LP record by Columbia Records and was their chairman for almost two decades - must be presumed to know whereof he spoke, it is clear that he had never encountered János Sándor.
Possibly Lieberson would defend himself by observing that the regard Sándor's have for him goes well beyond mere "liking": it is clear to any observer that they have great affection, even love, for him. Couple this with his exceptional musicianship and you have the formula for memorable musicmaking.
Friday's concert (his penultimate with the UVic Orchestra) consisted, the opening overture aside, entirely of "bleeding chunks" of larger works; all too often this can be a recipe for tedium in the concert hall. But not this time.
The overture to Mozart's Marriage of Figaro opened the evening (actually the evening opened with some of the warmest applause I've ever heard in Victoria, greeting Sándor to the podium). The strings were lithe and airy, the winds characterful and beautifully balanced. The whole performance was crisp and lively.
There then followed the finale from what is arguably history's most important single symphony: Beethoven's Op.55, the Eroica.
Whereas the last Eroica I reviewed (you can read it here) summoned up memories of great performances by Furtwängler and Mengelberg, Sándor's seemed more part of the tradition embodied by Felix Weingartner, although even Weingartner plays more fast-and-loose with the letter of the score.
Friday's was a terrific performance, precise and exciting, yet I must confess that for the first couple of minutes I had the unaccountable feeling that something, somehow, was missing.
And then I realised what it was - the first three movements.
The evening's music was chosen by Sándor from his favourite works and nobody can have been surprised to see the name of Béla Bartók on the bill of fare. His Hungarian Peasant Songs - an orchestral arrangement of a work originally composed for piano - was as idiomatic and exciting as one could imagine and opened with a huge string tone, the like of which I have never - with the possible exception of the visiting Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields - heard in Victoria before.
Perhaps - perhaps - an imported Hungarian band could have given a more authentic performance. But I wonder.
The first half closed with even more colouful music, in the shape of extracts from Prokofive's suite Lt. Kijé and Stravinsky's Firebird.
The Prokofiev, music written for the largely-forgotten 1934 Soviet film about a man who never was, is a delightful work, full of memorable melodies and brilliantly orchestrated.
Friday's performance of Kijé's Wedding and the famous Troika (Sleigh Ride) were enlivened by excellent solo contributions by Taz Eddy (trumpet), Alex Richards (tenor saxophone) and Nadia Pona (bassoon).
The Berceuse from Stravinsky's Firebird was appropriately tender, but it was the finale, opening with a superb horn solo by Jennifer Harmer, which really raised the roof. It is more or less one long, sustained crescendo - and long, sustained crescendos are a Sándor speciality. The sound of the full orchestra at the close - complete with seismic bass drum strokes - was nothing short of glorious.
The evening's second half was a faux symphony comprising the adagietto (fourth movement) from Mahler's Fifth Symphony, the third movement from Brahms's Third and the last two movements from Sibelius's Second.
Otto Klemperer never conducted Mahler's Fifth because, he said, the adagietto was "salon music". Perhaps he could have learnt a thing or two from Sándor who maintained a middle course between the extremely quick performances we often hear today (taking their lead from the earliest recordings, under men who had worked with the composer) and the bloated "adagissimo" versions favoured by ego-driven conductors (no names, no pack drill).
Sándor's control was total, the strings played beautifully, as did guest harpist Josh Layne. As fine a performance as I've heard since - well, since I last heard Sándor conduct it.
If there is one movement by Brahms which deserves, above all, that much-abused and overused adjective "autumnal" it is surely the third movement of his third symphony.
Friday's performance grew seamlessly from the final notes of the Mahler and began with some quite delectable playing from the cellos. Moreover the whole movement was beautifully paced and, of course, left one wanting more.
The transition from late Brahms to early Sibelius may have seemed a little jarring to some, but this was no time for quibbling in the face of such musicianship.
The scherzo was taken at quite a deliberate tempo - arguably not quite the vivacissimo called for by the score, yet the gains in clarity and weight were undeniable. And the woodwinds in the trio were delicious.
The transition into the finale was deftly handled and a movement which can often, in lesser hands, seem to ramble rather aimlessly, flowed naturally and inevitably to its monumental final coda.
It was an evening to treasure.
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