The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (SFSO) is on a tour of Europe with
Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT).  They made two stops in France, including
Paris last Monday evening, at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees (TCE, just to
show you that we also have ours).  I had the opportunity to attend their
Parisian concert, although Pavarotti was singing somewhere else in Paris
just at the same moment...  -:)

During the past twenty years, I can't remember a single performance in
Paris of Canteloube's "Song of Auvergne".  So we all had to be grateful to
an American orchestra and an American singer, Dawn Upshaw, for offering us
a few of these songs last evening.  I never found Ms. Upshaw disappointing
- this is what I call an euphemism - and I'll always remember her in
Messiaen's opera "Saint-Francois d'Assise".  Obviously, the tone of her
voice is ideal for Canteloube.  MTT and his orchestra provide a transparent
accompaniment, in a rather small size (40 strings), so that the piano is
sometimes a bit too noisy.

However, Ms. Upshaw (or Ms. de Los Angeles, or Ms. Te Kanawa, or Ms.
Von Stade) - all of them excellent singers in this repertoire - still
remain prime donne.  And these songs are not for prime donne, but are to
be sung as they were written for young peasants of the Auvergne!  So these
singers will never be as spontaneous, mischievous, graceful and pure as
Nethania Davrath: her complete recording of the "Songs of Auvergne" (a
Vanguard set, reissued on 2CDs) is a permanent miracle.

The main course was Mahler's 5th Symphony.  Once upon a time, the 1st was
the most performed in Paris.  Now it seems that it's the 5th.  During the
past two years, IIRC, we had Boulez, Janowski, Sado, Mercier, and I may
forget some of them.  In the fascinating acoustics of the Theater (precise,
distinct, analytic, never saturate), MTT gives an almost perfect reading
of this many-sided work: no voice, no counterpoint, no sound is missing.
The balance between the instruments is at its best.  OK, this music is
wonderfully written, but it doesn't always sound so beautifully.

The quality of the musicians is astounding: not only entire sections
of the orchestra, such as horns, violins, woodwinds, but also brilliant
individualities.  Let's see...  for example, the first horn, or the first
oboe: they obtain from their instruments tones, sounds I never heard
before.  I want their names!  A pity I missed the Cleveland Orchestra (and
Dohnanyi), also visiting Paris last Saturday and Sunday.  I wish I could
have compared these two orchestras!  I don't remember if the SFSO is one of
the "big five", the "mighty ten" or the "top twenty" in the US...  If it's
only one of the twenty best, alas!, how are the "big five" then? They'd
play no more for humans, but for gods.

What could be wrong in their performance last Monday? Too heavy
rallentendi in the first movement? Perhaps, yes, they do harm to the
continuity of the music.  A too objective Adagietto (11'25 if there are
other maniacs around)? But is it still necessary, in 1999, to play this
movement with an excessive pathos? IMO, MTT was not as cold as Boulez (I'm
refering to a live performance with the Orchestre de Paris about two years
ago, not to DG recording...  which I haven't heard yet), but not
syrup-like, as too many versions of this movement.

For Mahler fans only: MTT pays attention to the fact that the five
movements of the symphony form a three part structure: the 1st and 2nd
movement form the 1st part, the 3rd movement forms the 2nd part, the two
last movements form the 3rd and last part.  It's obvious that both of these
pairs of movements share are thematically closely related.  Usually, the
two last movements are performed without intermission (attaca), but very
rarely the two first movements, although the principle should be the same.
Well, MTT did play the two first movements without any pause.  Good idea,
IMO, and it's written in the score.

"Le Monde", Paris' leading evening paper, reviewing the first French
concert of the SFSO tour (same program two days before), was not as
satisfied as the audience (and myself): "a bit cold", "Dolby stereo
sound", "no pulp".  I definitely disagree: there's no point "overplaying"
Mahler's music: everything is in the score, you just have to follow the
indications and it just works marvelously.

Simon Corley
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