Does Bach’s music lend itself to improvisation? It did when the composer played it, and American jazz pianist Brad Mehldau is carrying on that legacy, most recently with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. With conductor and regular collaborator Clark Rundell on the podium, Mehldau offered persuasive solo improvisations on four Bach pieces, paired with orchestral arrangements of the music by modern composers. He capped the evening with a thoughtful performance of his own Concerto for Piano and Orchestra.
Mehldau is no dilettante in the world of classical music. He has recorded and performed with Renée Fleming and Anne Sofie von Otter, written scholarly articles on Beethoven and Brahms and received commissions from the likes of Carnegie Hall and the Barbican Centre to write and perform original classical pieces. From a musical standpoint, the most interesting aspect of his work is the middle ground he’s created between classical and jazz, an innovative blend of formal structure and spontaneous invention that draws on the strengths of both genres to create something new.
How Mehldau does this is fascinating to watch. Sometimes he will play the original Bach melody with his left hand, while simultaneously improvising on the melody with his right. Other times he will pick up on a phrase or simply a key and run off in entirely new directions with it. Or give the original melody a modern rhythm and settle into a groove that adds another dimension to the music. The risk in all this is to seem disrespectful, but with the deep knowledge and insight Mehldau brings, his improvisations honor rather than exploit Bach.
His work with Rundell was marvelous, picking up so precisely where the modern pieces ended that they seemed of a piece rather than separate statements and responses. The orchestra’s performance of the modern arrangements was not as consistent, starting with Stravinsky’s take on the Prelude and Fugue no. 10 in E minor, BWV855, which sounded clunky, especially in comparison to Mehldau’s cool, cerebral jazz treatment. Max Reger’s version of O Mensch, bewein’ dein’ Sünde groß, BWV 622, was better, lush and romantic, setting up a minor-key meditation by Mehldau. Webern’s transcription of the Fugue (Ricercar) from The Musical Offering featured fine tonal colors and an effervescence that prompted freewheeling rhythms from Mehldau, who then went in the opposite direction after Rundell’s own arrangement of Contrapunctus XIX from The Art of Fugue, refracting the music into almost abstract forms.
After intermission, the orchestra served up a smart, lively version of Mehldau’s own concerto, maintaining a steady pulse that he could play against, though in a surprisingly subdued manner. The solo parts are busy but relatively straightforward – even the lengthy cadenza in the first movement doesn’t offer much flash. And finishing with a slow, simple melody seems odd, especially with the orchestra reaching for grandeur. Technically, the blend of jazz and classical elements in the concerto is seamless and fresh, but emotionally, the piece seems like an ambitious journey to nowhere special.
An enthusiastic audience brought Mehldau out for four encores and arguably the most entertaining part of the evening, with straight jazz treatments of modern pop classics like Blackbird and Don’t Think Twice. Both performer and listeners seemed more relaxed, just enjoying the music rather than straining to be serious. Whether it all fits together is a matter of taste. But anyone who can pull off a successful program that starts with Bach and ends with Dylan is doing something right.
