Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 Henri Dutilleux: The Shadows of Time, for 3 Children's Voices and Orchestra R. Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Op. 28
I like the 3rd movement more than the other 3 of Brahms' concerto. Overall, I'm not so taken by it. The 4 movements are seemly disjoint. The solo horn opening feels sticky. Dutilleux's is a cacophony of sound: larger orchestra, more percussion, heavy use of the double base. Too loud and messy for my liking. The 5 movements ("Les Heures", "Ariel maléfique", "Mémoire des ombres", "Vagues de lumière" and "Dominante bleue?") have no clear boundary, if there is one. The children's voices are sweet, but I couldn't make out the words. I prefer the last and the shortest piece in tonight's program. Strauss' is also loud at times, but has more of a plot, and some interesting sounds. The audience, however, were more taken by the first 2 works. During the Ask the Artist session after concert, questions were all in these two pieces. Morlot, again, called Dutilleux, "my dearest friend", and praised the poetry in his music, which failed to emerge to a layman like me. I recommend these Q&A sessions for anyone who wouldn't mind getting home late, and I appreciate the artists taking the extra time to enlighten me.
Ax appears very courteous. He moves his head and mouth a lot, especially when he plays strong notes, but not making any noise or over showy gestures like many young pianists nowadays. Tonight, as an encore, he played a Schumann piece with the principle cello Efe Baltacıgil.
