Big Mess Orchestra

NHK Symphony Orchestra

by Peter Burwasser

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Published: Oct 25, 2006

classical review

The NHK Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1926, and has long been considered the leading symphonic ensemble of Japan. Many of the great conductors of the 20th century have led them, and the current music director, Vladimir Ashkenazy, is one of the most acclaimed musicians of his time. So one would expect the best-known band from a wildly prosperous, music-mad nation to throw out a decent noise, and for the most part, they did not disappoint in their Kimmel Center debut.

The program was all warhorses, with the Elgar Enigma variations and Debussy's La Mer providing the best showcase for the NHK. The Debussy, a magnificent evocation of the mystery and grandeur of the sea, was by turns playful and raucous. Elgar's grand set of orchestra variations on his own memorable theme came across as sweetly expressive, and also bursting with the vaulting pride of Edwardian England.

Yet there were a number of defects in these performances that demonstrated, surprisingly, that the NHK is not in the front ranks of the world's orchestras. Intonation problems were chronic, precision flagged in fast passages (most noticeably in the Elgar), and balances were askew, with the brass section stepping on the string lines in the loudest sections. Most significantly, the tone of the orchestra was not sustained at the extremes of the dynamic range. The quietest music was thin-sounding and without body, and never truly pianissimo, and when things got really noisy, the sound became screechy and less-than-controlled (albeit rather exciting). It was a telling contrast to the super-refined sound that is heard from the orchestra that most often plays in this hall.

The soloist in the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1, on the other hand, is most certainly in the front ranks of pianists. Hélène Grimaud brought poetry and passion to this massive score, but these qualities were most apparent when she had the stage to herself. At those times, by using naturally flexible tempos and beautifully gauged phrasing, Brahms came alive. When the tutti returned, it was as if the metronome came back on, and a four-square trudge ensued. This was an especially confounding problem in the adagio, which sang forth with a strong, linear pulse under Grimaud's hands, only to be answered insipidly by the orchestra. Despite the lack of true sync between the soloist and orchestra, the music emerged largely intact; if anything, this great, lumbering beast of a piano concerto gains resonance from the very human struggle with its vastness and physical challenges.

(p_burwasser@citypaper.net)

NHK Symphony Orchestra

Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor; Hélène Grimaud, piano soloist; Oct. 17, Verizon Hall

 

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