Chen's Phoenix was commissioned in 2012 by the Taiwan Philharmonic Orchestra but had never been heard in public. It was innovative programming by Varga that the MPO gave its world premiere six years after its completion. It was a pleasant surprise to hear such a tuneful composition, complete with a "Sheng" (an unusual ancient Chinese instrument) in the vibrant score, depicting a picturesque image of a happy phoenix gliding elegantly through the sky.
As with Varga's previous MPO concert which featured Glazunov's Violin Concerto and Ravel's Tzigane with James Ehnes, we had Baiba Skride making her DFP debut in Sibelius' Violin Concerto. The concerto opened with a slow Nordic chill, that was tempered by a very warm tone from Skride's ex-Yfrah Neaman Stradivarius and a lovely narrow vibrato. Skride gave the first movement a rhapsodic and introverted feel which worked well in concert. Varga was careful to rein the balance in the large orchestra assembled in the myriad solo passages but urged the orchestra forward with lyrical passion in the full-blooded teak-based tutti passages.
Her high notes floated in the stratosphere, supported by a beautifully and rich bowed tone and a judiciously applied vibrato. The fiendish cadenza put her exemplary technique through a gruelling test, which she passed with flying colours. For most of the first movement, her interpretation was a touch detached and dispassionate. As the final Allegro molto vivace kicked in, Skride went into overdrive in the flashing cross-string arpeggios and the myriad octaves and ended the movement with a wild, gypsy abandon.
The second movement was much like the first movement, with quite a broad tempo adopted. Here, the tone was warmer and vibrato rounder as Skride sustained the gorgeous melody with a bow arm of great lyrical intensity. The central climax was beautifully played and the pinnacle of the phrase (the high C) given its full due.
In the third movement (the “Polonaise for polar bears” in the celebrated phrase of British musicologist Sir Donald Francis Tovey), Skride was visibly at ease and enthusiastic whilst enjoying and surmounting its diverse technical challenges at a standard tempo.
After tumultuous applause, Skride gave the audience a stunning virtuoso solo encore, which was unannounced. Skride dispatched the encore piece which involved incessant string crossing and bariolage bowing, effortlessly.
Milhaud’s Le boeuf sur le toit, an exuberant, eccentric and light-hearted work strongly influenced by Brazilian music, followed after the interval. The title is that of an old Brazilian tango and the work fuses popular melodies, tangos, sambas and even a Portuguese fado interspersed with a recurring rondo-like theme. Varga and the MPO, made light of the work’s brash sonorities to create a performance which glittered with musical colour and light music-hall humour. Varga and the MPO, gave a mostly outstanding performance of this rarely performed work.
The concert ended with a spirited account of Kodály’s Dances of Galánta. The performance was full of exotic, folksy colours with virtuosic contributions from the woodwind principals, especially the clarinettist Gonzalo Esteban who coaxed the most sweet, smooth, subtle and sublime sounds from his instrument, performed with eloquent freedom.
Varga excelled in finding the wonderfully free rubato style and led the orchestra with a sure hand through the tricky and complex tempo changes. Varga had a great time, again wringing drops of colour from every section of the orchestra.
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