Tag: Augustin Hadelich

Augustin Hadelich @ The NY Philharmonic

Above: Augustin Hadelich; photo Jesse Costa/WBUR.

Author: Scoresby

Thursday May 25th 2017 – In a flavorful all-Czech program, the young conductor Jakub Hrůša made his New York Philharmonic debut at David Geffen Hall. The violinist Augustin Hadelich was featured on the program, returning to the New York Philharmonic. While I had never heard Mr. Hrůša before, I have been a fan of Mr. Hadelich’s for some time.

The first piece on the program was the enigmatic Dvorak Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53. This is a virtuosic showpiece from early on in Dvorak’s career and has never been a favorite of mine. Mr. Hadelich gave an astoundingly clean, dexterous, and lyrical account once again proving he is a superb interpreter. In the first movement he managed to structure the wandering sections and yet still find time to pause to savor the lyrical sections. The orchestra had a warm sound, but the orchestral writing for this piece is too large for a solo violin. Nonetheless, the musicians blended well with Mr. Hadelich’s tone, creating a very satisfying performance. There was a moment at the end of the first movement in which the horn and violin seemed to fuse timbres creating a beautiful effect evoking a warmer version of a woods call. These sensual movements made the piece much more exciting than I had expected.

Another was the way the woodwinds played the searing melody during the first movement – it felt like the one could feel the energy from that section of the orchestra. During the virtuosic final movement, Mr. Hadelich managed to playfully entertain with the many Czech dances – the orchestra following his lead well under Mr. Hrůša. Right before launching into the fast pace finish, Mr. Hadelich took one dramatic pause as if to breathe. It was perfectly timed and made the rush to the finish even more alert. As an encore, he gave a technically perfect and surprisingly lyrical account of Paganini’s Caprice No. 1. Mr. Hadelich managed to squeeze all the color that one can out of a showpiece like that.

Above, conductor Jakub Hrůša photographed by Andreas Herzau

The evening’s second half started with three of Dvroak’s Slavonic Dances: Op. 46, No. 1; Op. 72, No.2; and Op. 72, No. 7. The first one is a loud colorful fanfare that sounds nationalistic. Mr. Hrůša led a clear account that let the instruments breathe – the crowd burst into applause at the finish of this dance. The second is a much more tragic/lyrical piece which was deftly handled. While indulging for some of the thick textures, Mr. Hrůša made sure to keep the orchestra at bay to build into the third piece in the set – which sounded similar to the opening fanfare. These were crowd-pleasers certainly, but played well and with a sense of purpose.

After having read about it and listened to it on recording for many years, I finally got the chance to hear Janacek’s Taras Bulba, Rhapsody for Orchestra. This imaginative piece is loosely based on Gogol’s eponymous novella – but Janacek picks three particular scenes to set into music. The first depicts the son of Taras Bulba falling in love with a Polish woman, which eventually ends when Taras executes him for treason. The music itself alternates between sweeping sections depicting the tryst and intense war sounds. In the background of both sections the organ and bells are a constant reminder of his fate.

Mr. Hrůša drew a colorful and dramatic account, creating extremes in the alternate sections while having enough charisma to push through the piece. The orchestra emphasized the special sound effects well. The ending chord with the organ and bells created an almost vacuum-like effect, throwing the hall into silence. During the second movement, Taras Bulba’s other son is captured by the Polish and is watching them dance as his death draws nearer and nearer. Eventually after meeting Taras Bulba he is executed.

Here the orchestra sounded much lighter than in the first movement. The harps in the introduction lifted up the entire orchestra, playing both passionately and lyrically. The players managed to produce pulsing dance rhythms well, making the dance seem stuttering and intense. I noticed many similarities between the structure of this movement and Janacek’s second string quartet. He uses the violins in many of the same ways and the opening chords of the quartet appear through the entirety of second movement of the orchestral piece. I also noticed that Janacek manages to create sweeping opera-like sections. Mr. Hrůša managed to get deep anxious playing from the orchestra leading into the final bars. As if to add to the musical drama some audience member shouted a defiant “Nooo!” just as the movement was ending.

While the last movement depicts Taras Bulba dying, he also sees his own soldiers escaping capture. Thus the music Janacek compose during this movement is mighty and proud. While well played, Mr. Hrůša had the orchestra climax in volume too early, making the other large dynamics less powerful.

Nonetheless, one of my favorite parts of the piece is when the percussion strikes silencing all of the other instruments. The horns then slowly come in out of sync with each other, creating a call and response echoing effect. The orchestra pulled this off perfectly – building to a dramatic ending with the organ and bells being used to maximum effect. The result was both terrifying and uplifting, transporting the audience to the idealist vision of Janacek’s fantasy.

~ Scoresby

May 27, 2017
Hadelich/Honeck @ The NY Philharmonic

Above: violinist Augustin Hadelich

Thursday May 28th, 2015 – Earlier this season, Dmitry and I heard Augustin Hadelich give a memorable performance of the Samuel Barber’s violin concerto at Carnegie Hall. I was keen to hear the violinist again, and tonight the opportunity came with his appearance at Avery Fisher Hall with The New York Philharmonic playing Mozart’s “Turkish” concerto. Manfred Honeck was on the podium, opening the evening with the FLEDERMAUS overture; following the interval, we had Brahms’ 4th symphony.

The tuneful FLEDERMAUS overture was given a brisk, opulent rendition by the Philharmonic; Maestro Honeck gave this infectious music a vibrant sway, and Liang Wang’s oboe solo was a highlight. Toe-tapping and nodding in three-quarter time seized the audience, an inevitability whenever this overture is played.

Mozart’s 5th violin concerto (K. 219) is popularly referred to as “the Turkish” though there’s little feeling of the exotic in the music until near the end of the final movement. Mr. Hadelich, who I feels ranks very high among today’s top violinists for sheer beauty of tone, made his mark immediately when the opening Allegro aperto movement is surprisingly interrupted for a radiant adagio theme for the soloist. In the slow movement – the Adagio proper – the violinist was at his most persuasively lyrical, his warmth of tone and innate sense of the phrasing giving enormous pleasure. The final movement seems pretty much a standard rondo until Mozart suddenly tosses in a sustained passage of witty “Turkish” music that he used so charmingly in The Abduction from the Seraglio. After this diversion, a minuet sweeps graciously by and the concerto ends gently.

There’s a cadenza near the end of each of the concerto’s three movements, and as there are no ‘official’ versions for these miniature showpieces, Mr. Hadelich composed his own and they ideally showcased both his dulcet tone and his nimble technique.

A warm reception from the audience drew an encore from the violinist: a staggeringly virtuosic Paganini piece with slithering mile-a-minute scale passages expertly set forth by Mr. Hadelich. The audience listened in awestruck silence to this coloratura display, then erupted in cheers; the soloist was called out twice to a standing ovation, which he so thoroughly merited.

Following the interval, Maestro Honeck and the orchestra treated us to a sonorous Brahms 4th. This symphony, full of inspiring melodies, sounded particularly plush tonight. The composer himself conducted the 1885 premiere of this, his last symphony, and since then it has stood among the great musical masterworks of all time…and it certainly seemed so tonight. Though sometimes described as ‘tragic’, the fourth symphony prompted Clara Schumann to write to Brahms with this summation: “It is as though one lay in Springtime among the blossoming flowers, and joy and sorrow filled one’s soul in turn.” That is exactly how I felt listening to it this evening.

May 28, 2015
New York String Orchestra @ Carnegie Hall

Above: violinist Augustin Hadelich

Sunday December 28th, 2014 matinee – An matinee concert by the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall brought us the scores of two favorite ballets: Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings (the setting of Balanchine’s beloved classic) and the Barber violin concerto (one of Peter Martins’ finest creations). In addition, Beethoven’s Pastoral symphony (#6) rounded out the afternoon.

A huge crowd filled the venerable hall, perhaps drawn as much by attractive ticket pricing as by the inviting programming. Although betraying a lack of sophistication by applauding between movements – and even during one movement of the Serenade – they were on the whole very attentive and appreciative, and there were lots of young people present, a hopeful sign that live classical music still has the power to inspire in an age of I-phones and ‘clouds’. We could have done without the baby, though.

Jaime Laredo took the podium, mustering a lush and soul-lifting sound from his young musicians in the Tchaikovsky. I sometimes wonder if people who’ve never seen Balanchine’s ballet get the same spine-tingling raptures on hearing this score played in a concert hall. For ballet-goers, this is music indelibly linked to movement: to toe shoes and ice-blue tulle; so much so that, even though we know full well the order of the last two movements will be reversed, it’s still a bit of a jolt when it happens. The musicians (so many Asian players – always a treat!) simply reveled in the rich textures and broad melodies with which the composer both seduces and inspires us. It was a – indeed, an inspiring – performance, loaded with sonic ravishments.

Augustin Hadelich then appeared, slender and dapper, and together with Maestro Laredo and the orchestra (enhanced by winds, piano, and timpani) gave a marvelous reading of the Barber concerto. Mr. Hadelich has an extraordinary gift for lyricism, his tone remaining blessedly sweet in the highest register whilst meanwhile showing an almost viola-like resonance in the lower range. Sweeping thru the poignant themes that the composer has lavished on the work, the violinist seemed to be reaching the hearts of the listeners; and in the insanely swift and dancing coloratura of the final presto, he was indeed impressive.

Barber gives shining moments to some of the orchestral voices as well, most notably the oboe solo heard early in the second movement, played lovingly today by Emily Beare. Horn, flutes, clarinet and bassoon each have their say, and I love the way the piano is woven into the tapestry, Amalia Rinehart making a fine impression at the keyboard. I also greatly enjoyed the female timpanist, Yibing Wang.

Mr. Hadelich was rightly given a warm ovation and he very much deserved the Paganini encore which was granted, though I think I would have preferred to carry my deep enjoyment of the Barber right into the interval.

Beethoven’s Pastoral is a very nice symphony: the music is overwhelmingly lovely and cordial, and even the momentary storm (which passes as swiftly as Rossini’s witty thunderbolts in Barbiere di Siviglia) can’t detract from the sheer serenity of the music. Well-played by the young musicians, I found the symphony too lulling and too long to sustain interest over its 40-minute duration. But the first half of the concert was entirely satsfying.

December 28, 2014