There was no tenderness (zart's rough German equivalent) in last night's Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique renditions of Mozart's last three symphonies. Sir John Eliot Gardiner turned in hard-edged readings that focused on the here and now and not the surprise(s) coming down the road. That had the benefit of those harmonic surprises and false endings sounding like actual surprises, with nothing mannered or predictable about them. In the G minor, No. 40, Gardiner had the two horns sit to the either side of the orchestra for the outer movements, the better for their antiphonal effects to be heard. Think of it as the 18th century's answer to Marc-Andre Dalbavie's spatialization. There was some grumbling that the string sound was top-heavy and could've used another bass or two, but whatever. Vibrant Mozart.
My only quibble came after intermission, when the "Jupiter" symphony lacked the fire-in-the-belly playing of the other two. They were standing, instead of sitting as they had in the first half, so maybe they were tired.
One other interesting event to note from the concert: Near the end of the finale of No. 39, a man in the front row burst into applause when he thought the piece was over, and it clearly wasn't. The audience tittered a little, Gardiner turned around and, I thought, smiled, and a few of the players seemed amused. Not a single person harrumphed about the guy's intrusion on their divine communion with Mozart. After the final notes died away, Gardiner turned immediately and cued the audience to applaud, and they did, and laughed.
Now, a few weeks ago, Time Out London's columnist Michael Hodges wrote of being stuck at a rock show where the audience was stiflingly quiet the entire time, and of attending a piano recital at Wigmore Hall. The piano audience sat quietly, then went bloody nuts when it was over. Can we please move beyond this childish stereotype that classical audiences are uptight and that people feel stifled? This guy last night certainly didn't.
If someone actually takes the time to attend a concert, they realize they've been sold a bill of goods when they're told beforehand that they'll be shushed if they blink too loudly. Obviously, people can't carry on conversations, but enthusiasm won't be discouraged. The stereotype that it will be is false and should be put to rest. Loudly.
Following the indefatigable Steve Smith, the playlist:
Schubert: Piano Music for Four Hands. Evgeny Kissin and James Levine (RCA Red Seal)
Mark-Anthony Turnage. This Silence; The Nash Ensemble (Onyx Classics)
Nicolas Gombert. Missa Media Vita In Morte Sumus; The Hilliard Ensemble (ECM New Series)
Paul Motian Band. Garden of Eden (ECM)
