I spent last weekend going to 4 concerts in a rainy Amsterdam. Here’s a recap:
A sold out house saw the very popular Mariss Jansons conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra in a sparkling rendition of Strauss Don Juan op 20. Mahler’s Symphony no 5 (after an intermission) was played beautifully although it lacked something – despite the gorgeous music I personally thought it felt uninspired.
While the rain was pouring down outside the Juilliard Quartet played a program of Haydn, Shostakovich and Beethoven Friday evening. I particularly liked their Shostakovich – the op 138 was stunning, with a haunting presence in the music throughout.
Saturday it was time for a special Carter day. The newly written Horn concerto was performed, as was works by Stravinsky, Ives, Perotin and Ockeghem. What really stood out was a completely magic performance of Ives The Unanswered Question.
The auditorium was packed when Emanuel Ax entered the stage on Sunday evening. Unfortunately his right foot must have got stuck to something on the pedal early on, because after a while everything started to sound a little blurry, mushy, indistinct. And hearing the last piece, Beethoven’s Waldstein sonata, was more or less like trying to watch a painting with some weird glasses, everything slightly distorted and strange somehow.
As I’ve said before, the Concertgebouw is worth a visit in itself, no matter what’s on the agenda.
