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Beethoven for Our Times in Bonn

Mary Ellyn Hutton
Posted: Sep 17, 2009 - 3:11:15 AM in reviews_2009

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Sculpture outside Beethovenhalle in Bonn, Germany
Music director Paavo Järvi returns to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra this week streaming Beethoven.  Literally -- for that is the last thing he did before boarding a plane to the U.S. from Germany last weekend.

As artistic director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Järvi led a complete cycle of the Beethoven symphonies Sept. 9-12 at the 2009 Beethoven Festival in Bonn.  All four concerts were streamed live over the Internet and into movie theaters in Europe by Deutsche Welle-TV.  Two of them included Beethoven Concertos:   the Triple Concerto Sept. 10, featuring pianist Lars Vogt, violinist Christian Tetzlaff and cellist Tanya Tetzlaff (with Symphonies No. 4 and 5) and the Piano Concerto No. 1 Sept. 11, with pianist Elisabeth Leonskaya (paired with Symphonies No. 6 and 7).

It was a landmark for Järvi and his German chamber orchestra, which has been orchestra-in-residence at Beethovenfest Bonn since 2004.  The team has just completed recording all nine symphonies for Sony Classical.

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Paavo Järvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonic Bremen in Beethovenhalle in Bonn, Germany
The Beethovenfest cycle climaxed the DKB's five-year Beethoven Project in the composer’s birthplace, where it was initiated in 2004.  The concerts were taped for a special DVD, to be released in 2010.  To sample the ovation for the final concert Sept. 12, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtrfNKvLLy0  However, unless you were there, or viewed the streaming video (transmitted once and not repeated), you’ll have to wait for the DVD to see what the excitement was all about.  It was, in fact electric, and I felt like a witness to history being there.

The Järvi/DKB Beethoven is one for the 21st century.  It was fun to see shock turning to delight on people’s faces in the Beethovenhalle in Bonn, where the concerts took place.  I could relate, having felt the same way upon hearing the initial DKB CD in 2007 (Symphonies No. 3 and 8).

It is not just the tempos or the instrumentation which set this cycle apart, since that has been done many times already.  Beethoven’s once controversial metronome markings (did he really mean that?) are observed here, and the DKB is just 23 strings plus winds, more in line with size of orchestras in Beethoven’s day.  The orchestra utilizes modern instruments, with the exception of the trumpets and timpani, which are of the period.  This, said Järvi, was to give them more “bite,” and just moments into these symphonies, that became startlingly clear.  The DKB strings utilize selective vibrato, neither sterile nor lush, but always judiciously expressive.  It was like wiping accumulated smoke and grime from an Old Master painting.

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Paavo Järvi signing CDs at Beethovenfest Bonn
Note:  I was unable to attend the first concert in Bonn because of an unexpected travel delay, so the following remarks on Symphonies No. 1-3 are based on the DKB recordings and live performances in Avery Fisher Hall in New York:

1 and 2.  The First and Second Symphonies anticipate Beethoven’s later symphonic development, an impression that is intensified on the Järvi/DKB recordings.  The Adagio introduction to Symphony No. 2, for example, hints at the first movement of the Ninth Symphony, while the exhilarating Allegro con brio that follows contains the panoply of syncopations and harmonic/dynamic accents that characterize the Mighty Nine as a whole.  The tuneful Larghetto of the Second Symphony suggests the “Pastoral” Symphony, and the Trio of the Scherzo has at least a family relationship with the “Freude” theme of the Ninth.

3.  Symphony No. 3 (“Eroica”) poses a challenge for any conductor and ensemble, with its resonances of Napoleon and Beethoven’s disappointment at the French leader's tyrannical betrayal of the democratic ideals of the Enlightenment.  There is a certain grandeur and nobility that inevitably hover over it.  By contrast, the Järvi/DKB “Eroica” invites descriptions like “rock and roll,” with its whiplash open strings and stinging sforzandos.  But there is abundant lyricism, too, as the musical moment requires.

With the second concert, Symphonies No. 4 and 5 and the Triple Concerto Sept. 10, I was able to relish the DKB in Beethovenhalle, a handsome, welcoming space that is nevertheless scheduled to be replaced by a brand new Beethoven Festspielhaus, now in the architect selection phase.  A capacity crowd was on hand, as it was for the entire cycle.  Immediately noticeable were the cameras trained on the orchestra.  There were five onstage, including one that moved in a constant, left-to-right arc at the rear, a bit like a hovering insect.  Wood paneling behind the stage reflected subtle lighting, mostly blues and whites (red for the Fifth Symphony).

4.  The Adagio introduction to the Symphony No. 4 was soft and precise, building stealthily to the suddenly fortissimo Allegro vivace.  There was suspense here, too, as Järvi approached the recapitulation, and it was one big exclamation point to the end of the movement.  The scherzo rocked with rhythmic emphases, coming to a snarly end before Järvi launched into the finale (Allegro ma non troppo).  This was one of the most exciting movements of the entire cycle.  Not only did Järvi look ahead into the world of youthful, contemporary tastes, but backward to Beethoven’s day, when such sounds were truly radical.  At times, the DKB seemed engaged in a game of basketball, with one section of the orchestra handing off swiftly to another.  They tumbled down with agility at the end after a delicious moment of suspense.  Vogt and the Teltzlaffs (brother and sister) collaborated sensitively in the Triple Concerto.  Cellist Tanya announced the theme of the Largo second movement in creamy tones.  Violinist Christian gave the finale a stirring, heroic voice, and all played with verve to the lickety-split ending.

5.  Järvi called for nuance as well as force in the Allegro con brio of the Fifth Symphony.  The principal motif was decidedly hammered, and there was lots of transparency in the movement as a whole (transparency is characteristic of Järvi’s conducting in general).  The cellos sang with warmth and sheen in the Andante, which gave way to an aggressive scherzo, including a brisk, rough-hewn fugato and a beautifully paced transition to the final movement.  Järvi did not broaden the tempo in the finale as is sometimes done, but hewed to a heroic, animated Allegro, given almost visible effect by the violins’ laser-bright chords and “icing” by the piccolo.

The third concert September 11 featured the Sixth and Seventh Symphonies and the Piano Concerto No. 1 with soloist Elisabeth Leonskaya.

6.  Symphony No. 6, the "Pastoral," opened the third concert of the cycle Sept. 11.  Järvi treated it lovingly, with gentle, flowing lyricism, minus any romantic excess.  The strings withheld vibrato judiciously, and the woodwinds were as lilting and soft as one could wish from a movement entitled “Awakening of cheerful feelings on arrival in the country.”  “Scene by the brook” was brisk, with minute attention to detail.  The second violin trills were like little bursts of spray.   The woodwind “bird calls” were vivid and delightfully avian.  Järvi did not push the tempo in the third movement (“Merry Gathering of the Country folk”) allowing for a rustic swagger colored by the DKB trumpeters.  Timpanist Stefan Rapp’s rumblings erupted into a huge thunderclap as the “Thunderstorm” descended and fire seemed to rain from the skies.  The closing “Shepherd’s Song” was majestic and sustained, with Järvi saving the high point for the end, which tapered into faraway, thankful horn calls.  Georgian-born Leonskaya (who is not as well known on this side of the Atlantic as she should be) invested Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with a fluid touch that easily spanned graceful lightness and bold assertion, culminating in an arresting cadenza.  Given a sensitive accompaniment by Järvi and the DKB, she received a lengthy ovation.

7.  The Järvi/DKB Beethoven Seven should be bottled and dispensed for younger audiences, especially those who may not wish to tune into the “musty” composer, no matter what his universal fame.  This was demonstrated at the outset by the DKB’s forthright attack and the stinging chords and open E’s by the violins.  The effect was to grab one by the ears in anticipation of the first movement proper, which, by contrast, began with sweetness and lyricism.  Precision is vitally important in this movement, which can get bogged down in its repeated dotted rhythms.  This was no problem for the DKB, which was so exact you could hear lines that are usually obscured.  Järvi proceeded without a break into the Allegretto, which unfolded softly and rapidly without lugubrious effect.  The scherzo flew by as well, figures popping up like so many jumping  jacks.  There was a pause -- for breath, no doubt! -- before the final Allegro, where one was reminded of how shocking this music must have been for an early 19th-century audience.  The Seventh Symphony has been called “apotheosis of the dance,” but “fury” seemed more like it here, as one adrenalin-filled bar gave way to another.  There was a downright savage look in Järvi’s eye now and then, and timpanist Rapp laid on his sticks explosively.  The ovation that followed prompted an encore and a strategic one, “Valse Triste” by Sibelius.  Here Järvi demonstrated that the DK can play softly, too -- almost imperceptibly at one point, before a mad, ghostly swirl brought the music to an end in a whimper of violins.

The fourth and final concert September 12, Symphonies No. 8 and 9, was transmitted live into Bonn’s Marktplatz, where a huge screen was set up for free public viewing.  The crowd, reported at about 5,000, was richly rewarded, for it was an exceptional concert, especially the crowning Ninth Symphony with soprano Christiane Oelze, mezzo-soprano Annely Peebo, tenor Simon O’Neill, bass-baritone Dietrich Henschel and the  16-voice Deutscher Kammerchor.

8.  Järvi moved the Eighth Symphony right along.  The strings’ tommy-gun 64th notes created a buzz in the second movement, and principal cellist Tanya Tetzlaff’s triplet figures were shapely and engaging in the Trio of the Menuetto.  The finale proceeded at a clip, which may have blunted some of its humor, but yielded a heady, breathless effect nonetheless.

9.  The Ninth Symphony provided cosmic energy after intermission.  The DKB was on target throughout, from the eloquent winds (kudos to all, including oboist Ulrich König, for their outstanding work in the scherzo) to the ravishing strings in the Adagio.  The bass recitative that interrupted the raucous opening of the finale (“O Freunde, nicht diese Töne”) was shaped exquisitely by Henschel in a warm distinctive tone.  Similarly, his announcement of the “Freude” theme swelled operatically, with full strings and brasses and fine singing by the vocal quartet.  Robust blasts of contra-bassoon introduced the “Turkish” march where O’Neill displayed a sterling tenor voice.  Following a furious fugato, the chorus re-entered in a calm, stately manner.  Nothing was exaggerated here, either in tempo or dynamics.  The chorus’ sublime chorale-like moment preceding their full-throated statement of the “Freude” theme with full orchestra glimmered with anticipation.  There was something achingly human and indefinably expressive about Järvi’s handling of the chorus before the re-entrance of the vocal quartet near the end, perhaps a reflection of his Estonian heritage and that country's great choral tradition.  The quartet itself performed smoothly and with a fine blend, Oelse touching her concluding high B with lightness and aplomb.  From there, it was no-holds-barred to a heaven-storming conclusion.

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screen in Marktplatz, Bonn, Germany advertising public viewing of Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen concert
This “wow” performance was followed by a lengthy ovation in Beethovenhalle (ten minutes at least), no doubt echoed on the Marktplatz.

(photos by Mary Ellyn Hutton)