The NHK Symphony Orchestra’s season opener was a surprisingly low-key event and there was a back-to-school feel in the auditorium rather than a palpable buzz. Perhaps the orchestra is saving the firecrackers for its 100th anniversary celebrations which will start in earnest in 2026. Still, on this evening the orchestra was on superb form led by Chief Conductor Fabio Luisi, who is starting his fourth season with the NHKSO – and will lead it into its next century. The partnership is evidently thriving after their successful European tour in May.
Luisi’s stamp was certainly on the programme which consisted of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 5 with Yefim Bronfman and Franz Schmidt’s Fourth Symphony. Luisi is known as a leading exponent of Schmidt’s music and has often conducted his symphonies and the oratorio Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln with various orchestras so I’m sure the connoisseurs of orchestral music in Tokyo were looking forward to this rare occasion. According to NHKSO’s archives, its only previous performance of the Fourth was 40 years ago with Otmar Suitner.
The performance didn’t disappoint. Luisi’s belief in the work and deep understanding of Schmidt’s unique musical language shone through his detailed but constantly flowing interpretation, and he took the orchestra expertly through this most personal of the composer’s four symphonies. Schmidt composed it in the wake of his daughter’s untimely death after giving birth – hence the inclusion of the funeral march in the Adagio section.
The near 45-minute single-movement symphony (in four continuous sections) opens with a haunting theme by the solo trumpet – angular but meandering, as if the protagonist has lost his way. This motif, which recurs throughout the work, was played with sensitivity by principal trumpet Kazuaki Kikumoto. The gentle second theme was presented with finesse by the violins – indeed, there was a richness of tone in the string playing in general. Luisi navigated the meandering development with relentless forward momentum but always with elegance. The Adagio was particularly poignant, with the nostalgia of the outer sections led by the ardent cello solo cello (one was reminded that Schmidt himself was a cellist with the Vienna Philharmonic) framing the heartbreaking funeral march.
The short Scherzo was played with energy and verve, while the final section returned to the darker mood of the opening section, evoking the protagonist facing his fate. Luisi’s pacing was meticulous, and he brought out textural clarity despite the dense orchestration and highlighted the various solos. Although I can’t mention them all, there were some outstanding contributions from the woodwinds.
The symphony was preceded by Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto. (The programme informs us that one can trace Franz Schmidt’s musical lineage to Beethoven through his teacher Leschetizky). Making a welcome return to the NHKSO after 24 years’ absence, Bronfman’s playing was exemplary; knowing the score inside out, he was totally inside the music with no flashiness or unnecessary technical display. His tone was rounded and mellow with a clear bass line, and in the solo passages he could be brilliant and emphatic, but most of the time he played like a chamber musician, listening to the orchestra and fitting into the overall musical fabric. Perhaps one could say his performance lacked edge, the sense of adventure, but ultimately his experience won the day. Moreover, the intensity of the orchestral playing (with largish forces) elevated the performance to great heights.
