Germany Dresden Music Festival 2026 [8] – Wagenaar, Grieg, Brahms: Alexander Malofeev (piano), Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra / Lahav Shani (conductor). Kulturpalast Dresden, 2.6.2026. (MC)
Johan Wagenaar – Cyrano de Bergerac, Op.23
Grieg – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in A minor, Op.16
Brahms – Symphony No.2 in D major, Op.73
For this Kulturpalast concert legendary soloist Martha Argerich had originally been scheduled to perform Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra but unfortunately withdrew. In her place, Moscow-born pianist Alexander Malofeev stepped in to perform Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor.
I doubt I have ever heard any work by Dutch composer Johan Wagenaar (1862-1941) played in concert. So, this was my first time hearing Cyrano de Bergerac, a concert overture from 1905. Here Wagenaar has drawn a musical depiction of the title character in Frenchman Edmond Rostand’s play Cyrano de Bergerac (1897). In this splendidly orchestrated work it wasn’t difficult to hear echoes of Wagenaar’s contemporaries Wagner, Tchaikovsky and especially Richard Strauss’s symphonic poems notably Also sprach Zarathustra and Ein Heldenleben. The Rotterdam orchestra have a lovely, clean orchestral sound and this powerful concert overture was performed with an abundance of gusto and commitment.
This was my first concert by pianist Alexander Malofeev a product of two world famous Moscow music schools the Gnessin Special College of Music and the Tchaikovsky Conservatory. In 2014 Malofeev then aged 13 won the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians held in Moscow. Performing the Grieg Piano Concerto, perhaps, rather predictably, I was a little disappointed that Malofeev didn’t play a Russian concerto.
Having heard so much about the young Russian player to say I was enthusiastic to attend this Malofeev concert was an understatement. In the Kulturpalast I sensed an electric atmosphere of expectation, and it wasn’t long before the prowess of the soloist was confirmed. The last time a performance by a pianist gave me goosebumps was at Dresdner Musikfestspiele 2018 when another Russian Daniil Trifonov played in this same building.
Playing Grieg’s much-loved concerto superbly without flamboyance Malofeev produced a dazzling palette of colour and I found his level of expressive rubato just right. His natural aptitude for balancing the contrast of delicate passages against those of powerful impetus was compelling. My highpoints were Malofeev’s playing of the virtuosic cadenza in the opening movement and in the lyrical second movement Adagio he was precise and alert with an ideal pace that combined for a magical performance. Under Lahav Shani the Rotterdam Philharmonic was sensitive to the soloist and didn’t put a foot wrong.
Brahms’s much loved Symphony No.2 in D major was performed in the second half of the concert. A work written swiftly in 1877 chiefly during a summer holiday in Pörtschach on Wörthersee Lake, Austria a resort that had become the composer’s favourite holiday destination. After completing the score in Lichtenthal near the spa town Baden-Baden, Brahms wrote modestly to a friend ‘I don’t know whether I have a pretty symphony. I must inquire of learned persons!’ One such learned person was Hans Richter who conducted the première in Vienna with the Philharmonic in 1877.
A glorious pastoral melody on the cellos with double basses commenced the opening movement Allegro non troppo. Sometimes known as Brahms’s pastoral symphony for good reason the music did evoke an early morning scene as the summer sun was rising. Soon I was fully engaged by the Rotterdam Philharmonic’s performance of Brahms’s glorious D major score.
Next the Adagio non troppo having a darker sound and more orchestral weight. This was brooding music of melancholic reflection in what is a generally sunny score. Here I felt the strings sounded magnificent.
More like an intermezzo than scherzo the Allegretto grazioso movement from its calm opening took on an energetic, rather breezy quality in the manner of a Dvořák Slavonic Dance. Especially impressive was the wind section with the oboe having a significant role.
The finale marked Allegro con spirito was played with a special joyousness. Standing out was the orchestra’s playing of the triumphant conclusion given with a release of tremendous energy.
Under conductor Lahav Shani the visiting Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra shone in a compelling concert with fresh and sparkling performances containing appropriate emotional depth. In the Grieg Piano Concerto soloist Alexander Malofeev was the crowning stroke.
Michael Cookson
Featured Image: Alexander Malofeev in concert with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra at Kulturpalast Dresden © Stephan Floss