Wolfgang Rihm: Spiegel und Fluss. Postlude and Prelude for Orchestra Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto no. 1, b-flat minor; op. 23 Bela Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra Christoph Eschenbach Lang Lang, piano NDR Sinfonieorchester Musikhalle Hamburg, April 22, 2002 Wolfgang Rihm's work was premiered on January 2, 2000 by the same forces as tonight, together with six other world premieres. Now it made its return to Hamburg, after just two years. It serves as an excellent concert-opener, due to its prelude character. Written on the prospect of a new millennium, it is meant as postlude to the old and prelude to the new millennium. As often with Wolfgang Rihm, it's a rather dark and slow affair. If this work is to predict the next millennium, we will have to face many unpleasant things. Fortunately, at the very end things lighten up. It begins with a very complex, albeit slow, rhythm on the woodblock, which is returning throughout the piece and will ultimately end it. This may remind the listener of the time passing, but the time of this music isn't as regular as the one of physics. Spiegel und Fluss reminds me in its dark colors and slow motion of Sibelius' world. The work seems to be made of chorale fragments. While it is very effective as such, it could do with a little more impetus and doesn't quite have enough meat for it's twenty minutes. There is an animated and very aggressive middle part, but that does not provide enough pulse to sustain the music. Near the end, two off-stage trumpets have yet another chorale together with an on-stage flute. This is a truly wonderful effect and adds much to the light that is lead in at the end. The performance was if anything better than the premiere. After music of the 21st century, music from the 19th century followed. Tchaikovsky's oh-so famous first piano concerto. Can this young Chinese pianist add anything significant to this overplayed work? The answer is nothing but YES! His technique is stunning, the audience was very obviously flabbergasted by his bravura. He played the descending octaves that more than once demanded by Tchaikovsky at a neckbreaking speed, yet never lost control. However, what made this performance special was not the technical command he possess, but his ability to relax for lyrical music. Then the tone changed and he played, seemingly lost in dreams, wonderfully soft. The tempi throughout tended to be extreme, the first movement at a relatively high basic tempo, but with a healthy dose of rubato. The second movement's slow parts were rather adagio than andantino, but the prestissimo was nothing short of, well, prestissimo. The finale even topped that, as it whizzed by in clearly less than seven minutes. All the way through the concerto, Chistoph Eschenbach focused very much on Lang Lang, if he didn't look at him he obviously had "an ear on him". Thus the orchestra proved to be an excellent ensemble of accompanists. During the less furious passage, the interplay was chamber music-like. Especially the winds blended superbly with the piano's tone. The piano wasn't always in the foreground, in fact there were many passages where Lang Lang accompanied the orchestra. This performance managed to unite Mozartean spirit with Tchaikovskian pathos. Truly magnificent. After the interval, the concert concluded with music from the 20th century: Bartok's concerto for orchestra. Here the marvelous orchestra could show how good they really are. And boy, they are good. From the perfectly clear and soft opening to the furious closing bars, everything was in place. Probably the most impressive music of the evening was the Elegy. Eschenbach formed climaxes of terrifying grandeur and quiet, haunting passages. The fourth movement was truly funny, the orchestra seemed to laugh. The finale was again extremely fast and clocked in at well below ten minutes. The intonation was always flawless, both of the orchestra and of the pianist. Lang Lang played Brahms' Romanze op. 118 no. 5 as encore. A daring choice, but showed yet again that he is much more than a wonder of technique. It was perfectly tender and musical. An appropriate, if unconventional encore. Tremendous applause both for him, Eschenbach and the orchestra. Jan