Recently anointed Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic, Semyon Bychkov has been guest-conducting the greatest orchestras of the world on both sides of the Atlantic for a long time. He has had, over the years, a special relationship with the New York Philharmonic, conducting the ensemble quite often. He started this season’s two subscription weeks stint with a program pairing two less-performed Romantic works with a 20th-century, major symphony.
Brahms composed his Tragic Overture – and its merrier and better-known companion, the Academic Overture – while spending a summer vacation in Bad Ischl in 1880. Including three, rather than the usual two main subjects, the work could have easily played the role of a symphony’s first movement. Alas, even if the composer displays his usual skill in braiding and developing the themes, the basic material has nothing extraordinary. The Philharmonic’s instrumentalists did not bring any true shine to the score, playing seemingly half-heartedly and not always accurately. Not even the clever transformation of the first theme into a brief, solemn brass chorale in D major (horns, trombones and tuba) was able to sufficiently raise the dramatic tension.
Having quite a successful career in Europe, the French pianist Bertrand Chamayou appears only infrequently on the American stages. Making his belated debut with the New York Philharmonic, he was the soloist in Mendelssohn’s First Piano Concerto. A relatively lightweight, delicate piece, composed in the shadows of Mozart, Beethoven and Carl Maria von Weber, the concerto is closer to Chopin’s Romanticism than Liszt’s big statements. Chamayou emphasized the geniality and expressiveness of this music, especially evident in the Andante, which had, in his interpretation, a Mozartean charm. He avoided displaying any signs of empty virtuosity, even if it was clear that his technique is as good as anyone’s. Chamayou’s approach was always restrained, his coloring scheme a faded pastel, not an in-your-face, ostentatious one. Unfortunately, he had difficulties bringing the orchestra along in his poetic quest, the instrumentalists dutifully performing their parts without too much enthusiasm. The Saturday night audience warmly expressed its appreciation for Chamayou’s performance but, for whatever reason, the pianist did not play any encore. Hopefully, he will be invited to perform again in New York quite soon. A recital would probably give music lovers a better chance to evaluate his talent.