News: Conductor

Philharmonic delivers Heroic fare

David Cleary, Boston Herald, February 24, 2006

Posted: 2006-02-27 10:55:00

The Boston Philharmonic is no stranger to giving programs of larger-than-life fare, and last night's concert continued this tradition - it even was subtitled "The Heroic Ideal." Both a highly familiar opus as well as one less frequently heard were encountered.
Ask any concertgoer to name someone who wrote pieces of monumental nobility and timelessness and chances are excellent that Ludwig van Beethoven's name quickly will come up. His Fifth Piano Concerto, subtitled "Emperor," is a prime example of this composer's heroic grandiosity in music.
But the piece still shows measured classical-period roots beneath its lush foliage. Wisely, piano soloist Jon Kimura Parker and conductor Benjamin Zander made sure these two ways of thinking got equal emphasis.
Parker's exquisite finger work and brisk tempos contrasted with his deliciously sculpted melodic phrasing and big, centered tone. Crackling energy filled the concerto's jaunty finale, while the warm, slow movement sang with a rich loveliness that never became cloying.
Here, the orchestra responded smartly to Zander's sensitive, yet clear-headed conception of the work, furnishing a backdrop that had personality without upstaging its talented guest.
Listeners who only know"The Dream of Gerontius," the "Pomp and Circumstance" marches and the "Enigma Variations" badly need to delve into the remainder of Edward Elgar's portfolio of compositions. And part of that exploration must include not only his remarkable chamber music and concertos but also his two completed symphonies.
The First Symphony is sizable, nearly an hour's length. Insensitive conductors often further bloat this big work by playing it too slowly.
Zander's approach was purposeful and true to Elgar's score markings without sacrificing any of the symphony's expansive warmth and outgoing passion.
The satisfying result was the sort of clean, vivid, colorful playing one finds in world-class ensembles at their best.
While the old cliche "bigger is better" does not always apply, here it held true and then some.