MONTREAL — Young artists are common on classical-music guest rosters these days, partly because they are thought to appeal to a desirable demographic. Last week, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal attracted a big crowd to the Maison symphonique with no less venerable a figure on the podium than Leonard Slatkin, 81.
This American, who made his OSM debut in 1976, has a vast discography that reflects a range of aptitudes. He comported himself like a natural all evening in Classical, Romantic, and modern styles.
The major item after intermission was Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1 (Winter Dreams). Far from a tentative first step, the 1866 score (later revised) came across as big, confident, and colorful. Pictorial elements emerged boldly under Slatkin’s clear baton. Horns were forceful in the otherwise songful second movement.
The fugue of the finale was suitably vibrant. Strings were arrayed traditionally — violins on the left and double basses on the far right — with the usual payoff in full sonority. Slatkin chose a slow tempo for the third movement (Scherzo:Allegro scherzo giocoso is the unambiguous marking), but otherwise this was a successful performance of a work that should be heard more often.
Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 26, K. 537 (Coronation), is also something of a rarity, at least compared to its companion concertos. Dismissed by Mozart biographer Alfred Einstein as a case of the composer imitating himself, the score impressed Charles Rosen with its innovative demarcation of structure through melodic rather than harmonic means. OSM program annotator Justin Bernard drew attention to the fragmentary nature of the autograph and probable role of an editor in filling in the lacunas.
At any rate, there are plenty of notes in this virtuoso outing, and Angela Hewitt played them (on a Steinway rather than a Fazioli, her preferred make) with a soft touch that kept brilliance and elegance in suitable balance. The London-based Canadian added a few notes of her own, most brazenly in the final bars, in which the soloist is (or should be) silent. A little extra showmanship in a work that is mostly about this very quality.
The orchestra, which Mozart used economically, sounded refined. Hewitt played the stately D major Fugue from Book 1 of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier as a solo encore. A born extrovert, the pianist greeted fans in the lobby during the intermission on both Feb. 26 (the concert I heard) and 28.
The program began with As Quiet As by Michael Colgrass (1932-2019), an American who moved to Toronto in 1970 and never looked back. Mostly scaled at pianissimo, this 13-minute modernist grab-bag trades in minimal nature imagery — “an ant walking” and “a soft rainfall” are two movement titles — although Beethoven makes a prominent (and gratuitous) appearance.
Slatkin, speaking to the crowd with the help of a French interpreter, characterized the 1966 piece as a product of its decade. It is harmless. It does, however, demand extra percussionists, a keyboardist, and two harpists, who are not needed for Mozart or Tchaikovsky. A lot of personnel for a little music!
