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Exciting mixture of music of British fisherman, American jazz and
Finnish popular songs
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An outstanding concert was organized by the La Jolla Music Society and was held
in the symphony hall of San Diego Symphony Orchestra. Attendance was dense
because a visit of such an illustrious musical group as the London Symphony
orchestra is not repeated often in this beautiful happy city on the shores of the
Pacific Ocean.
Tilson Thomas led the British orchestra in its American tour this spring. He has
been conducting the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra for the last 15 years, but
he is also the principal guest of the British orchestra led by his famous Russian
colleague, Valery Gergiev. He is as well the heir of a leading artistic family in the
US and had close relations with the great Russian composer, Igor Stravinsky. His
repertoire includes over 120 cds of the top ranking classical composers.
London Symphony Orchestra was established in 1906 and has the biggest share of
recordings of classical and film music. Its current leading conductor, Gergiev will
be replaced in 2017 by the incredible British conductor Simon Rattle who
currently leads the top orchestra in the world, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Among the prominent conductors who led the London Symphony Orchestra over
the decades were: Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Colin Davis, the Italian Claudio
Abbado and the French Pierre Monteaux.
Tilson Thomas moved steadily and victoriously towards the summit of success. He
did not adopt a speedy pace as was done in the past by his peers but rather he
held firmly the orchestra especially the brass section. He presented an enjoyable
concert with slow speed. Some of the old recordings of Sibelius’s second
symphony, full of popular music, took 39 minutes whereas now we heard the
same piece taking almost 49 minutes. The performance was delightful and
effective and received a lot of admiration and profuse applause. The piano
concerto of the American composer George Gershwin, known for his jazz songs in
the 30s of the last century, had the right measure of the correct speed and
tempo. The Chinese pianist Yuja Wang, while highly competent, somewhat missed
the flexible spirit of jazz music. She is an extreme master of technique and plays
as if she is not exerting any effort. She surprised us with her elegant green dress,
and I heard that she impressed the audience in Los Angeles with her equally
splendid red crimson dress.
Tilson Thomas gave us a very good idea on how to design a diverse musical
programme which includes different modern style pieces but blend with such
harmony. Britten’s music flowed full of life, very sensitive and peculiar that we
felt the composer’s introspective approach and the inward intensity of Peter
Grimes. The happy lively piano concerto of Gershwin mixing jazz phrases with
classical melodies was played with exuberance even though it was slightly brash.
The patriotic spirit of Sibelius could not be hidden. When symphony No. 2 was
composed, Finland was under some kind of control by Russia, Sibelius was an
admirer of Tchaikovsky, but his nationalism prevailed. The conductor showed
natural authority and masterly control ; his reading gave a definite interpretation
of the free Finnish spirit. His style has deepened over the years and is broader in
tempo and more profound in feeling. His conducting showed real stature; he is a
reliable interpreter without inserting himself in the piece.
LSO was led to victory in this tour because Tilson Thomas had a full grip on the
musicians. With one simple gesture a hundred players, with military discipline,
would stop playing then resume playing emotional soft melodies thus creating
the contrast between force and tenderness. The audience were also under the
grip of the conductor. They were quietly listening with great expectation then
exploding in applause. This interaction between the conductor, the orchestra and
the audience invited Tilson Thomas to give an unusual encore after the concert
was over. He played one of Brahms’ Hungarian dances which was received very
enthusiastically. The maestro then made a signal with his hands and face that he
was ready to go to sleep, so the excellent party came to an end. We remained in a
world where the beautiful music echoed in our heads until we went to bed as
well.
