Even in a theater like the Colón, which has seen a shower of stars fall for more than a century, It is rare for two top-level international pianists to coincide on the same day for two different concerts.. Because of that magic that the summer of the northern hemisphere still has in store for us, on Saturday the public was able to attend This unusual phenomenon with the performances of the French Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the Spanish Javier Perianeswhich also included two notable orchestras (the National Youth Orchestra of the United States and the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra) two foreign directors: the extraordinary Marin Alsop and the young Kakhi Solomnishvili.
The afternoon’s proposal (the American youth organization together with Thibaudet and Alsop) had a relaxed atmosphere already in the orchestra’s dressing room: dark blazer, red pants and sneakersNaturally, the program emphasized the creation of American authors.
With the beautiful and powerful Symphony No. 1 in one movement, an early work by Samuel Barber, it was demonstrated that the National Youth Orchestra of the United States, which emerged from a summer project promoted by Carnegie Hall and its music academy and made up of students between 16 and 19 years old, It is the result of incredibly deep work.
For many, the great attraction of the program was the return of Thibaudet, linked to us not only by the “feeling” with the local public but by his great admiration for tango. 14 years after one of his most memorable performances at the Colón, when he played the Concerto in F Gershwin, the Lyon pianist (tight T-shirt and trousers, jacket and sneakers with rhinestones) approached with the greatest ease the Rhapsody in blue by the same author.
With an unbeatable rapport with the orchestra, always guided to the millimetre by Alsop, Thibaudet played freely with the dynamics, phrasing and mischievousness of the blue notes, which are the basis of a great part of a style that he handles like few academically trained performers. Both the encore performed together with Thibaudet and the one that closed the evening were also by American composers: Victory Stride by James P. Johnson and Swing by Laura Karpman.
The Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra at the evening concert. Photo by Arnaldo Colombaroli
One after the other
Only two hours after the end of this concert, it was the turn of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic in its subscription cycle. Here the guest soloist was another notable pianist, although from a later generation than Thibaudet: Andalusian Javier Perianes, also relaxed and charismatic but with a discreet profile and evident humility.
His approach to tBeethoven’s third concerto (a work that, like others from the transition from the classical world to the abyss of the romantic, involves profound dilemmas in the choice of dynamics, colors, articulation, use of the pedal, etc.) It was expansive and decisive at the start, turning into a poetic and heartbreaking song in the second movement. and dialogue full of vital force in the third. Off-program, Perianes In just a few minutes he created a world of intimacy and beauty with the fourth of the Lyric Pieces, Op. 54 by Grieg.
The second concert had as guest the prestigious Andalusian Javier Perianes, also relaxed and charismatic, accompanied by the Buenos Aires Philharmonic. Photo by Arnaldo Colombaroli
As stated, The American orchestra is an unstable ensemble that reaches high musical standards thanks to the superlative work of Marin Alsop for the amalgamation of sounds, the equalization of the different planes and the intensity of the result, in which each member seems to be physically and spiritually committed to the maximum.
Con Scheherezade In Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera (in which concertmaster Isabella España shone), Alsop gave another masterclass in economy of gesture, concentration and sobriety, to bring the orchestra to its highest level.
Georgian Kakhi Solomnishvili was almost at the opposite end. (who arrived last year with Charles Dutoit and returned this season to conduct Carmen), a hard-working musician who, despite his bombastic gestures (or perhaps because of them), He did not have the best results in the harsh Diptych of Valdo Sciammarella nor in a work of basic repertoire like Brahms’ First Symphony. Despite everything, the Philharmonic, the organization of great professionals, managed to bring the performance to a successful conclusion, at the end of a crazy day full of color and emotions.
Record
National Youth Orchestra of the United States
Soloist: Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
Extraordinary Concert Cycle
Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra
Guest Conductor: Kakhi Solomnishvili
Soloist: Javier Perianes, piano
Buenos Aires Philharmonic Subscription Cycle
Colon Theater, Saturday, August 10
