Domingo Hindoyan launched his third season as Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with an exuberant sold-out concert of American music. Liverpool audiences have taken Hindoyan to their hearts and he has reciprocated with some superb music making.
Leonard Bernstein took the dance sections of West Side Story out of the theatre and transformed them into a showpiece for large orchestra in his Symphonic Dances. He retained the swagger of the musical down to the finger-clicking and shouts of “mambo” but shaped the dances into a new coherent, indeed symphonic, whole. Hindoyan and the RLPO gave a bravura performance which set us up for a remarkable evening.
We then had two concertante works for which the orchestra was joined by local star pianist Paul Lewis, whose first encounters with orchestral music were in this very hall. The two works were written only a few years apart: Gershwin’s ever-popular Rhapsody in Blue, premiered in February 1924, and Copland’s Piano Concerto, first performed in January 1927.
Copland’s sole work in the genre is something of a rarity in the concert hall but is a rewarding piece to hear. The composer seemed to be experimenting in different styles from impressionism to jazz to experimental modernism, occasionally anticipating Copland’s better-known ballet scores, film music and even the world of West Side Story. It was as if he was inventing the sounds that we now associate with America. Lewis’ playing was sophisticated and refined.
Lewis has the power to make every note count and draw us into every phrase as if telling an unfamiliar story. He was also willing to enter into the more extrovert sections with abandon. It was unfortunate that sometimes the orchestra overpowered the piano.
If Lewis did not have much opportunity to show off his virtuosity in the Copland, that was rectified in Rhapsody in Blue where he dazzled with jazzy exuberance. In both works his charismatic playing was matched by that of the orchestra. The woodwinds were particularly striking throughout, including the famous clarinet glissando that sets the scene for Gershwin’s infectiously melodic work. Lewis’ rapport with the players was evident throughout, an episode in the Copland concerto where pianist and woodwinds delivered a spiky exchange particularly striking. I could often see Lewis smiling. He really seem to be enjoying himself and this communicated to the audience.
The final work in the programme was another American set of Symphonic Dances, those by Rachmaninov, long exiled from his native Russia. They were the composer’s last work, written at his home on Long Island, New York, and first performed in 1941. There is a smoothness of line and clarity of expression that eschews the flamboyant decoration of some of his best-loved works but his characteristic melodiousness is to the fore. The smoothly flowing waltz of the central movement was a delight, followed by gripping intensity in the final dance. Hindoyan imbued this music with a special feeling and elicited fine performances from all the players, boding well for the new season.
