Gustav Mahler, Symphony No 7 in E Minor; Berliner Philharmoniker, Kirill Petrenko, conductor
As I walked past the front of the Albert Hall towards the Arena standing queue area for this sold-out Prom, I was amazed to see a gaunt, tall, balding and now stooping figure who has been a constant presence at the RAH for the last 50 years, whenever I have been to a sold-out Prom. He’s their regular black market ticket seller, and he must have some official tolerance from the RAH, so ubiquitous is he. I would have thought by now he would have retired – he always seems to have looked the same…..but there he was, a reassuring presence in a fast changing world…..
The concert once again affirmed my belief that the Arena standing area is the only part of the RAH where orchestras sound at their best. The Berlin Phil sounded fabulous – warm, full strings, brilliant brass, exquisite woodwind and a highly impressive timpanist, amongst others. The whole orchestra seemed to be listening to each other responsively, and there was a joyful sense of music making together – almost chamber-music like – that I think must be part of what Petrenko creates as a working atmosphere with this band.
Petrenko has, apparently, got a broken toe – which didn’t seem to need a stool or footrest, and he bounced around on the stage as I imagine he normally does. It’s a pity – presumably on doctor’s advice to ease up, he has been replaced for the second BPO concert by Daniel Harding and the programme changed from Shostakovich 10 to Bruckner 4 – that’s a pity; I was looking forward to Petrenko’s Shostakovich, and Bruckner 4 received a magnificent performance from Rattle and the LSO last year
It is only 6 years since the BPO played the same work under Rattle, at the Proms (which I was at) and indeed only 4 years since Petrenko conducted Mahler 7 with his Bavarian State Opera Orchestra at the Barbican (which I didn’t go to). I was asking myself as I listened what the differences were between the two performances I’ve been at. Both were very, very good. If I have to characterise Petrenko’s version it was a quest not so much for beauty of sound as for exquisite clarity – layer on layer of inner parts revealed in a way I don’t remember with Rattle, but exquisite not in a sense of beauty for beauty’s sake but somehow uncovering further aspects of what Mahler wanted to say. Particularly in the second, third and fourth movements there were sounds of burbling woodwind or snarling brass I just don’t think I’ve heard before. The other things that made Petrenko different for me were (1) the driven rhythmic approach to the outer movements, which worked well, and didn’t sound forced, and (2) the tightness of Petrenko’s conducting – there’s no leaning into phrases here, but pointed, compressed lyricism. Petrenko has a wonderful style as a conductor – physical, acknowledging every motion of the music with his body (but never to excess) and signalling everything to the orchestra through his gestures. That glint in his eyes and the huge attention to detail reminded me a bit of videos of Carlos Kleiber at work.
There was a standing ovation at the end from the majority of the audience.
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