by Robert Leeper
David Afkham [Photo credit: Chris Christodoulou]
As part of its new
incarnation as a purveyor of new
works and innovative programming, the Mostly
Mozart Festival has given wide exposure to a plethora of young conductors.
Over the past couple of years this has included international stars Lionel Bringuier and Pablo Heras-Casado, and last night at Lincoln
Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra had another young
conductor at the helm, David
Afkham, conducting a program of music by Johannes Brahms.
Brahms’ Concerto for Violin
and Cello was overall given a soulful, stirring, and searching reading .
While both violinist Vadim Repin
and cellist Truls Mørk brought a fittingly Romantic take to Brahms’ final
orchestral work, they also felt a touch reserved. The first movement opens with
an arresting dialogue between the two soloists, and the duo truly
moved as one super-soloist, so close was their synchronicity and tone. However, there
was a tendency for this to render some median of emotion—in addition to being
first-time collaborators, they had the sheet music in front of them, which,
while not inherently a problem, can diffuse some of the spontaneity of a
performance.
In the slow middle movement, the soloists excelled not
when fighting the orchestra, as in the first movement, but when allied with
the ensemble. They sang out from gentle arpeggios that swelled and ceded
again, with the smooth curves of the Andante calmly leading to the beginning of
the raucous final movement. Conductor David Afkham had enthusiasm and excitement during the theme and
other upbeat sections, but was not able to bring the group back down for the
more delicate passages, leaving a sound that communicated flatness rather than longing.
After the intermission, the concert concluded with the composer's Second Symphony. If Brahms' First Symphony—22 years in the making and
hailed as “Beethoven’s Tenth”—can be considered a work for earnest connoisseurs capable of pursuing its minute details and complete
sincerity and passion, then the Second extends its warm sunshine to connoisseurs and
laymen alike. It belongs to all of us who love great music, weather or not we
can grasp the more subtle complexities. There was a radiance to the work—a healthy freshness and glow. Afkham exemplified the essential characteristics of
serene cheerfulness and gentle melody, animating the moments of joyful good
humor while occasionally providing a more reflective meditation.
There was just a bit of grit in the
opening horn solo, as a pearl might form around a grain of sand, perfectly complementing
the pastoral feeling. The first movement, however, went on to
envelop the audience in warm melodic waves gradually growing to an elemental scale while always
keeping a light touch, as exemplified by Yoobin Son’s bucolic flute solos. The final movement led
to a noticeably triumphant and brassy coda, resulting in an
anticipated roar from the crowd—in this case, very well deserved.
The Mostly Mozart Festival continues through
August 24 throughout Lincoln Center; more information available at mostlymozart.org.