Talk about star power. The Rudolfinum’s compact stage seemed too small a setting to accommodate two luminaries like conductor Sir Simon Rattle and pianist Yuja Wang. But sterling performances and a neat fit of styles made for a memorable evening, both musically and historically, opening a new chapter for the storied Czech Philharmonic.
Both Rattle and Yuja Wang brought a mastery and instinctive feel for the music that combined tight control with an exhilarating sense of freedom, an absolute command of the material that held the promise of spontaneity in every bar. Rattle barely glanced at the score (when he used one), leaning out over the podium to coax subtle nuances and fine details out of each section, luxuriating in the music as much as leading it. And when Wang was at the keyboard, the music seemed to flow out of her, playing with a firm, supple touch that cast a spell. As for knowing the repertoire, knocking off all four of Rachmaninov’s piano concertos in a single marathon afternoon, as she did at Carnegie Hall last year, said it all.
If his Piano Concerto no. 3 in D minor is considered the most difficult of the quartet, someone forgot to tell Wang, who glided through it like a figure skater on ice. Her playing was crisp and cool, warming up in solo passages like the cadenza in the first movement, which was remarkable for its clarity and elegant burnish. Even in the most dramatic moments of the piece Wang kept the overall feeling light, delving into its intricacies with a bright tone and exuberant spirit, invoking the passion without the weight.
Rattle, meanwhile, cut an unorthodox figure on the podium, letting Wang take the lead and offering quiet support with the orchestra. The tendency with Rachmaninov is to emphasize the emotional swells, which Rattle eschewed until the final movement. In the first two he took full advantage of the Czech Philharmonic’s strengths in the Romantic repertoire without spilling over into sentimentality or nostalgia, teasing out gentle melodies while keeping the piano front and center. His restraint set up a finale with added impact as orchestra and soloist hit high gear together, trading sharp, playful exchanges that culminated in a rip-roaring finish. Brilliant but never flashy, Wang and Rattle offered a fresh take on a well-worn standard that was both insightful and entertaining.
For Bruckner’s Symphony no. 6 in A major, Rattle turned up the volume but never lost the fine balance in the sound and careful modulation of dynamics that characterized the entire evening. A moderate tempo and brief pauses after the recurring climaxes gave the music room to breathe, along with a sense of emerging as an organic whole rather than a series of episodes. Finely crafted layers of sound featured strings with bite, rounded brass, nimble woodwinds and horns in the third movement with a character all their own. Critics sometimes deride Bruckner’s symphonies as one long, continuous exercise, but this one had a distinct, polished personality.
Earlier in the day, the orchestra announced that Rattle had signed on for a five-year tenure as Principal Guest Conductor, starting next season. He will occupy the newly created Rafael Kubelík Chair, a nod to a seminal Czech Philharmonic conductor whose work and sound were influential in Rattle’s early career. “He is such a part of why I am a musician,” Rattle told Czech Radio after the press conference. “I’ve loved this orchestra since I was a child. I never imagined that later in life I would become part of the family.”
