Jean Sibelius: Pohjola's Daughter, op. 49; Violin Concerto d minor, op. 47;
Symphony no. 5 E-flat major, op. 82

Leif Segerstam
Reka Szilvay, violin
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Musikhalle Hamburg, February 17, 2003

The Helsinki Philharmonic on tour with an all-Sibelius programme, that's
bound to be a success, isn't it? - To make it short, yes it is!  It might
seem bold to open a concert with music as dark and concentrated as
Pohjola's Daughter, but when it's played as tightly and clearly articulated
as it was tonight there's no danger. This reading indeed was superlative,
the clear textures especially miraculous. To hear this music in all its
darkness but without loss in transparency is something very special.
The violin concerto is a splendid warhorse and often it sounds like that.
Not, however, with Segerstam and Reka Szilvay. It was as energetic as
one could wish with many new details shining. It sounded as fresh as
ever without being obtrusively innovative. The powerful attack of the
fragile Ms. Szilvay is at first surprising, then astonishing and finally
you got to love it. Not a single moment of ennui, every scale was
purposeful. The orchestral thud during the first movement's cadenza
was overwhelming, sure, but in no way did it scare Ms. Szilvay; on the
contrary she could well put something against the large orchestra. Her
control over the tone of her violin is amazing, everything from a mere
whisper to a large hall-filling roar was there.  The slow movement was
wonderfully tasteful, not a trace of kitsch in the opening wood figures.
Then tension was extraordinarily high during this movement, even the
most ignorant coughers were silent. The finale began with quite a bang
- admittedly rather forte than mezzo forte - but it could live up to the
expectations it thus rose. The end was especially impressive, without
quite deciding between dark and light it was satisfying.  After the
interval, the fifth symphony was on schedule. If the orchestra had been
splendid during the first half of the program, there was a slight weakening
now, especially in the brass. Right the opening of the horns was a rather
vague affair and they ended up with a couple more minor problems.  While
the orchestra tended to cover the soloist in the concerto, problems got
more serious in the symphony: at times the brass made the woods all but
inaudible. However, these are minor points compared to the overall
excellence of the orchestra and indeed the music-making.  Segerstam gave
the first movement just enough of momentum and yet allowed the music to
breathe. The solo passage of the bassoon - marked patetico by Sibelius
- was wonderfully executed and the subsequent scherzo-part was even
better. Even though it seemed impossible, both orchestra and conductor
could add something every bar until it ended in true frenzy. However,
control was never in danger and the final chord very precise.  Perhaps
the slow movement suffered somewhat form Segerstam's mannerisms; while
tempo fluctuations are important, they don't need to be quite as extreme.
The playing of the wind soloists was without fault, especially the end,
played somewhat tongue-in-cheek was very convincing.  Really no complaints
would be appropriate for the finale, which seem just right. And yet,
Segerstam revealed something utterly new: the end was far from the
optimistic happy affair it usually is. Just through somewhat unusual
colouring of the texture he questioned everything - pretty much like in
the violin concerto. The brass improved to stellar playing in the coda.
Again, the ability of the orchestra to play ever louder was amazing.

The applause was - despite the poor attendance - thundering. In a very
charming way ("This was a lot of Sibelius - but now even more Sibelius"),
Mr. Segerstam announced the encore: the Valse Triste from op. 14. Hardly
surprising but again splendidly played. The orchestra seemed to have put
on an entirely new sound, what before was dark and relatively cold now
gave way to a very soft (but well focused) sound. Delicious.  The better
part of the audience seemed to be the Finnish community of Hamburg. This
is especially sad as the concert was so fantastic.

Jan