Pianists don’t come with much more of a stellar reputation than Lang Lang, so it was hardly surprising that his appearance with the Oxford Philomusica was greeted by a full house. I was told before the concert began that the rehearsal had gone exceptionally well, but even so I was unprepared for the electric level of communication that had obviously been established between soloist and orchestra.
The work was that hoary old warhorse, Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto. It’s the sort of piece that can all too easily engender a feeling of “Oh, that again” among audiences and players alike. But not here. The colossally confident opening bars were played by a colossally confident soloist, yet Lang Lang simultaneously conveyed the feeling that he was discovering the music with great pleasure for the first time. A key point was quickly made too: the work may be in a minor key, but it looks optimistically outwards, it isn’t full of anguish.
As the first movement progressed, sudden bursts of energy shot out from the piano and into the orchestra. The slow movement was dreamily melodic, with silky string playing supporting the soloist, while the finale’s strong affinity to Tchaikovsky’s great ballet scores was clearly demonstrated. The performance was greeted by a standing ovation.
I mean no disrespect when I say that conductor Marios Papadopoulos only needed to remain in the background during the Tchaikovsky, but he was very much to the fore during the first half of the concert, when he directed a performance of Dvorak’s New World Symphony from memory. This was a muscular interpretation, characterised by powerfully raw brass playing and alert reactions from the strings. There was good woodwind work too, and winning cor anglais solos from Rachel Ingleton. If Papadopoulos didn’t quite achieve a feeling of wide open American spaces, that was no doubt due to the comparatively intimate nature of the Sheldonian auditorium.
- Giles Woodforde
