Since 1991, the Met Orchestra has been moving from pit to stage in an annual series of three concerts at Carnegie Hall, giving audiences the opportunity to hear them outside the opera house, allowing the musicians to display their virtuosity in the flawless acoustics and grandeur of the historic venue. More often than not their programs have included leading opera singers and stayed close to their work at Lincoln Center. In this all-Brahms concert led by Myung-whun Chung and featuring violinist Maxim Vengerov, they showcased their versatility within the symphonic repertoire.
Vengerov’s bravura performance of Brahms’ sole Violin Concerto was distinguished by his remarkable technical prowess and appealing sense of spontaneity and excitement. The work opened in a stately fashion – steady and careful under Chung’s graceful baton – with the soloist’s dramatic entrance coming on as brisk and urgent, showing signs of the fireworks that followed. As the felicitous first movement eased into lyricism, Vengerov displayed rich tonal variety and a daringly broad range of dynamics. Adding to the feeling of freshness was his use of his own daunting cadenza at the end.
The pastoral oboe melody that opens the central Adagio, sweetly rendered by principal John Upton, was accompanied by a chorus of wonderfully mellifluous winds. When the violin entered, it was delicately lyrical with hints of rubato. As the movement progressed, intensity varied as soloist and orchestra engaged in a chamber-like exchange of elaborations and variations of the melody. In the joyful rendering of the boisterous Allegro giocoso finale, the Hungarian dance rhythms brimmed with exuberance and character. Here, as in the rest of the concerto, the synergy between violinist and conductor was plainly evident, contributing to the impact of the performance.
The encore, a delicate account of the Sarabande from Bach’s Partita no. 2 in D minor, dedicated to the victims of the recent air crash near Washington, DC, provided evidence of Vengerov’s extraordinary sensitivity and broad stylistic range.
Conducting from memory, Chung took a wonderfully fresh and vibrant approach to Brahms’ Fourth Symphony, caressing every detail of the rich and complex score with economy of gesture and receiving a warm, assured response from the Met players. After the serene opening theme, the melancholic first movement became increasingly passionate and dramatic, with the virtuosic strings contributing significantly to its expressive quality and the short, rhythmic figures from the trumpets adding intensity and drive. After a forceful horn fanfare opening of the nocturnal Adagio, the soft pizzicato strings together with the expressive playing of the winds sounded wonderfully serene. The marching rhythms of the Scherzo, marked Allegro giocoso, with its throbbing timpani and shimmering triangle, infused the mostly somber symphony with a momentary sense of joy and exuberance. After a superbly blended trombone chorale, Chung gradually speeded up the sequence of variations in the closing passacaglia, giving way to an especially powerful coda that served as an impressive and fitting conclusion to Brahms’ monumental work.
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