Out of the sky, a screaming fighter aircraft dives into a minimalist ballet, which gives way to waves of luxurious, enchanting rhythms. Hardly a typical night at the concert hall. But with gravitas provided by soloists Gidon Kremer and Giedrė Dirvanauskaitė, and some fancy dancing by guest conductor Omer Meir Wellber, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra pulled it off with aplomb.
The aircraft is the iconic P-47, a well-known workhorse of World War 2 that provided a handy title for a piece Bohuslav Martinů wrote when the war ended. Thunderbolt P-47 is a Scherzo that starts out in a blaze of combat, segues to a light, pleasant melody and then returns to the front lines with a triumphant, slam-bang finish. Wellber was at his best in the midsection, lending the melody an engaging lilt with expressive strings. Boisterous martial rhythms drove the opening and closing sections, which otherwise never quite jelled. The opening in particular is a riot of colliding sounds, difficult to cohere. Wellber captured the energy and excitement, but never managed to sort out the clutter.
Philip Glass’ Double Concerto for Violin and Cello was written on commission for the Nederlands Dans Theater, which took it on tour in 2010. Arguably the most interesting aspect of the piece is its structure – three “parts”, each preceded by a cello and violin duet, with a fourth duet to finish. The duets offer somber statements that the orchestra either picks up and embellishes, or simply provides continuo for continuing development by the soloists, who play in a variety of combinations – together, or with different, overlapping melodies, or in dialogue with each other. A surprising amount of the music starts out in a straightforward neoclassical mode, but eventually it all morphs into the familiar repeating rhythms that characterize most of Glass’ work.
Dirvanauskaitė is the principal cellist in Kremer's Kremerata Baltica, and they both play in a coolly impassioned style, with virtuoso technique drawing on a deep well of feeling. Kremer was the more intense of the two, tightly focused on every note, which Dirvanauskaitė complemented with a soulful sound. The two instruments were originally intended to mirror dancers, but this was a purely musical interpretation, and a riveting one, a smart, precise reading of moody, complicated material. Deft work by Wellber integrated it seamlessly with the orchestra.
Beethoven’s Symphony no. 7 in A major would have benefited from similar clarity. Wellber can conjure up the sweep and power to carry Beethoven, but even with a relatively slow tempo that allowed him to highlight details, there was a disappointing lack of definition. The main theme almost disappeared in the first movement, and the third was heavy and ponderous rather than light and animated. Wellber conducts with his entire body, literally dancing much of the time on the podium – not an inappropriate style for a program built around dance rhythms, and one that has served him well in 20 years of conducting opera. But in this case the grandeur was top-heavy, with the peaks more like crashes.
Through all that, the orchestra was outstanding. The woodwinds sparkled, the strings sang and the percussion added some tasty touches to the concerto. Playing a program that spans centuries under a first-time conductor would be a challenge for any orchestra. On this night, Prague’s Radio Symphony Orchestra showed poise, first-rate musicianship and an ability to fly high, even in stormy weather.
