Ireland Rachmaninov, Shostakovich: Lise de la Salle (piano), National Symphony Orchestra / Diego Maltheuz (conductor). National Concert Hall, Dublin, 17.1.2025. (RB)
Rachmaninov – Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor, Op.18
Shostakovich – Symphony No.7 in C, Op.60 ‘Leningrad’
This year is the 50th anniversary of Shostakovich’s death. To celebrate this important anniversary, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland under the baton of Diego Maltheuz gave a stirring performance of Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony in this concert. The opening work was Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto with the distinguished French pianist Lise de la Salle as soloist.
Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto is one of the greatest comebacks in this history of music. The 24-year-old composer’s First Symphony had a disastrous premiere which resulted in Rachmaninov having a nervous breakdown. He was rescued by the neurologist, Dr Nikolai Dahl, who restored his health and confidence and inspired him to write the Second Piano Concerto. The work had an astoundingly successful premiere in 1901 with Rachmaninov himself playing the solo part.
There was much to admire in this performance by de la Salle, Maltheuz and the NSO. De la Salle brought a refined Romantic sensibility and great tonal beauty to Rachmaninov’s sumptuous, sweeping melodies while the virtuoso finger work was played with dazzling dexterity. The tolling chords with which it opened were played with great gravitas and a perfectly calibrated build-up in dynamics. The handling of the development section of the first movement was particularly impressive with de la Salle bringing a wide variety of tone colours to the intricate pianistic textures and vying well with her orchestral partners. The horn call which ushered in the final section was magical. There were a few balance issues between orchestra and soloist; for example in the sweeping, melancholy melody which opens the work the cellos needed to be more prominent, while in some of the climax points de la Salle was drowned out by her orchestral partners.
The NSO’s strings brought a gorgeous Romantic sheen to the slow chords which opened the Adagio second movement. De la Salle showed her consummate skill as a chamber performer in the subsequent exchanges with the woodwind as phrases were passed seamlessly between orchestra and soloist. The final movement was taken at a blistering pace, and it provided de la Salle with an opportunity to display her virtuoso credentials. This was impressive playing by de la Salle, although I wondered if there was scope for her to bring out more of the scherzando elements in this movement. The coda was a thrilling tour de force and it was deservedly greeted with a standing ovation from the audience. De la Salle performed a transcription of Schubert’s An die Musik as an encore.
Shostakovich’s began composing his Seventh Symphony in July 1941 when the German siege of Leningrad was already underway. He had volunteered as an auxiliary firefighter in Leningrad during this period and he famously featured in his uniform on the cover of Time magazine in 1942. The work was first performed in Leningrad in August 1941 by the city’s orchestra, many of whose members were half-starved and seriously ill. The state of the orchestra is memorably symbolised by the drummer, Dzaudhat Aydarov, who had to be rescued from the city’s morgue as people thought he was dead. The symphony is often seen as an important symbol of defiance against fascism. However, German fascism was not the only target in the composer’s sights. He later said the Seventh Symphony was about ‘the Leningrad Stalin destroyed, and Hitler finished off’. Shostakovich was also clearly reacting to Stalin’s purges and the reign of terror imposed on the Soviet population by the authorities.
The orchestra expanded in size considerably for the performance of the Shostakovich with some of the brass players seated above the orchestral podium in the circle. Diego Maltheuz had clearly studied the score in detail and he and the NSO delivered an impressive performance. In the opening movement Maltheuz created a pastoral mood before the introduction of the famous ‘War’ theme. There was an impressive and well-calibrated build-up in dynamics as the theme was repeated twelve times. The insistent side drum created a stirring martial atmosphere as various instrumental combinations played the famous theme. The NSO succeeded in making the theme sound increasingly grotesque, reflecting the barbarism of war and culminating in strident brass entries. The NSO’s strings created an unsettled atmosphere at the beginning of the short second movement. The shrill entries of the woodwind in the middle of the movement underlined the visceral toxicity of this music.
The chorale which opens the third movement is an extraordinary piece of writing and it was brilliantly executed by the NSO’s woodwind. The strings were particularly impressive in this movement and played with great eloquence and pathos. Maltheuz showed scrupulous attention to detail in the finale and skilfully navigated his way to the final victory celebrations at the end of the movement. The last section is fragmented and whilst the transitions were handled well by Maltheuz it did not quite take flight in the way that it sometimes can.
Overall, this was a first-rate concert featuring impressive playing from both soloist and orchestra and a memorable interpretation of the Shostakovich from Maltheuz and the NSO.
Robert Beattie