Gig review - Liverpool Philharmonic, Karel Deseure, Labèque sisters, Philharmonic Hall Liverpool, 8 June 2023

A gig review from June, in Liverpool... yes it's 2 months late, but it made such an impression on me I figured I'd finish it for my own satisfaction!

Programme:

John Adams - The Chairman Dances: Foxtrot for Orchestra
Nico Muhly - ‘In Certain Circles’: Concerto for Two Pianos
- interval -
Prokofiev - Symphony No.3

Prokofiev's 3rd Symphony has been one of my favourite pieces of music since some time in the mid-90s when I borrowed this CD box-set of symphonies from my local library (CDs... remember them?!). I've waited literally decades for someone to programme a live performance of the Third that I could get to, so there was no way I was missing out on this concert, whoever was playing and whatever else was on the programme. 

Fortunately, the first half looked like it would be to my taste too, though: something from John Adams and a new piece from Nico Muhly. It was a lovely bonus that Katia & Marielle Labèque were playing the 2 pianos in the Muhly piece either - well-known names in classical music that I was keen to hear in person. As I often do, I purposely avoided researching The Chairman Dances or Nico Muhly (beyond asking a friend whether she thought his music would suit my taste) so that I'd get a first impression with as few pre-conceptions as possible.

The first thing I noticed on getting into the auditorium was the presence of 2 grand pianos at opposite sides of the stage, ready to be wheeled on for the Concerto... and the second thing I noticed was a gargantuan bell on a sort of wheeled trolley, tucked in behind the piano at stage right. I immediately remembered that the final section in the Prokofiev symphony has some really prominent bell parts in. Sad and childish though it might seem, in a way the whole evening for me was framed by that sense of giddy anticipation.

To begin with, though, a first half full of minimalism, or at least music with a strong minimalist character. The Chairman Dances was a new piece to me from a composer I'd already enjoyed after being exposed to his music by singing Harmonium, a large-scale choral work. The piece had 4 distinct sections with varing moods, the 4th section essentially a re-statement of the 1st. At a couple of points, it sounded so similar to the 1st movement of Harmonium, I felt the urge to sing "no no no no no" or "I never stooped so low...". The work is so much of an orchestral team effort that it was difficult to perceive it in terms of melody or even themes, and my impressions were all to do with rhythm, harmony, and mood.

Nico Muhly was in the hall for the evening and introduced his own double piano concerto, acknowledging his debt to John Adams' musical style and talking self-deprecatingly about having "stolen" bits of Adams' music. Though exaggerating, he wasn't wrong, and I could easily have believed that Adams was the composer, had I come to this with no previous knowledge. From just the one hearing of In Certain Circles, my own impressions were again that this piece is all about rhythm and harmony rather than thematic material. I found it odd that the Sarabande and Gigue in the middle of the piece were presented as one movement, despite the abrupt change of mood. I also found it slightly odd that this piece, labelled as a concerto, was again so much of a team effort, to the extent that the 2 piano soloists never truly got to stand out from the orchestral texture. I liked it, but I'm not sure it really feels like a proper concerto. I would definitely like to hear the Labeque sisters again, when they have an opportunity to show off properly!

After breaking for the interval, and a swift G&T in the light and airy bar area, I returned to the hall to listen to the bucket-list symphony I'd been waiting decades for.

A MASSIVE BELL, ready for some Prokofiev.

 

Apart from its relative unpopularity, the major practical issue with Prokofiev's 3rd is that from my viewpoint as a very enthusiastic amateur, it is, well... hard as nails to play. Thankfully, the RLPO were up to the task, and we in the audience were treated to impressively accurate playing that did more than merely avoid mistakes, adding intention and feeling too. As ever, when you have no visibility of the rehearsal process, it's difficult to know how much of this is down to the influence of the conductor and how much was sheer performing skill and enthusiasm.

Speaking of enthusiasm, I suspect Karel Deseure was responsible for injecting a lot of it into rehearsal, judging fom the way he introduced the symphony to the audience immediately before the full performance. Like I had said before, he pointed out that this might be the only opportunity some of us get to hear this symphony in person in our lifetimes, and he gave voice to my disbelief that this amazing work remains relatively underplayed. If you happen to read this before it disappears from BBC Sounds, you can hear the BBC Symphony Orchestra's Performance of Prokofiev 3 from their 2023 Prom concert on Sun 30 July.

I'm ashamed to say I did a little eye roll when the conductor started talking, thinking "this is one of my favourite pieces of music, what is he going to tell me that I don't already know?" but I'm glad he spoke. He asked the orchestra to demonstrate important themes, including some I hadn't realised were leitmotifs for certain ideas. (These ideas being identifiable by association with the story of the Fiery Angel, the opera from which Prokofiev extracted and formed this symphony.) He did inexplicably fail to mention one theme which is such a pillar of the 1st movement, though, namely the theme where Ruprecht swaps from Russian to Latin to sing "libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna". But still, an excellent idea to make an introduction. No mention of the bells though... but I knew they were coming!

From the first couple of bars of the 1st movement, I knew I wasn't going to be disappointed. This was very well-judged: speeds that moved ahead without rushing, a robust volume from the brass that left some head-room for the really huge moments later on, and the main Fiery Angel melody passionately belted out by the strings. The slow 2nd movement successfully conveyed a feeling of superficial calm and rest, with unease simmering underneath. It's a credit to Karl Deseure and the RLPO that they tastefully got out of the way here and let the composition do the work without over-interpreting.

From watching and listening to the two orchestral sections that I have practical experience of (trumpets and double basses) I have to say how much I admire the skill and stamina of the orchestral musicians in the RLPO. The sheer lip-fatiguing quantity and volume of the trumpet parts and the absurd high passages way up the double basses fingerboards were notable. I can only sympathise with the other sections if their parts were as difficult! Demonstrating the difficulty in particular, the 3rd movement lived up to the conductor's description of it as a "written-out panic attack". Instead of the usual 5 parts, the string section was at times divided into 13 fiendishly-difficult parts scurrying around, creating the tense and frightened mood. I've always found it curious that the very end of the Fiery Angel opera is only used for the end of this penultimate movement. However, knowing how Prokofiev chose to close out this recycled symphony, I absolutely understand his thinking...

The 4th and final movement derives largely from the opera scene where Ruprecht meets the sorcerer and the very ending of this symphony, in this performance particularly, excited me as much I've ever been in a concert hall. The music is stormy and violent, and throughout I sensed the brass section raising the stakes a little, along with the volume, in preparation for the hugest noises at the end. With the final re-statement of the opening theme of the movement, it was time for the percussionists' big moment. One performer began to pace unhurriedly down from the risers to the main stage and in those moments I finally knew that the huge lonely bell I spotted earlier was about to toll. The two massive thwacks to this "Big C" bell made me imagine a horror movie where the bells in some gothic church are summoning otherwordly demons. Back up on the risers the "Technicians' bell" clanged twice, and then, in all my excitement, I'd forgotten about the 4 offbeat gut-punches from the bass drum which hit even harder for having been unexpected. Seconds later, the brass finally reached peak volume, shrieked one last time, and the symphony was over.

Just this once, I was *that* guy, the one who claps first (though I promise I waited long enough for the sound to die away and the conductor to start lowering his arms!). The sense of giddy excitement I got during those final passages was honestly a little overwhelming, and I have never been as keen to put my my hands together in appreciation of a performance.

I practically skipped out of the hall, grinning like an idiot. Thank you to the RLPO's programming team for scheduling this rarely-heard work, and to the orchestra for executing it so passionately.

One final notable thing for me was that this was my first trip to Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool. I'm pretty sure the Liverpool Phil were the first professional symphony orchestra I ever heard in person, but that was back in the 90s when they used to make regular trips to Preston's Guild Hall. I'd never made the trip to hear them on home turf before, and so being accustomed to Manchester's Bridgewater Hall and its excellent acoustic and facilities I was interested to see how the much older Philharmonic Hall compared.

Philharmonic Hall, as seen from a kebab grill across the road.

The short answer is: it's a great hall, or at least it certainly is if you get a seat at the front of the gallery where I was. The space had just enough reverberation to be flattering, but not so much that it hid the detail in the music. The view was great, perfect for watching everyone, from the double basses, to the trumpets and massive bells alike. And just to top it all off, there are a couple of takeaway food places right outside the hall - very useful when you've had to spend the back end of rush hour driving to the venue without any time for food. Overall a great night that has made me willing to make the trip to Liverpool more often.