This April Fool's weekend marked pianist Denis Matsuev's debut performances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Roberto Abbado. Between Maestro Abbado's exciting, yet elegant performances of Steven Stucky's Son et Lumier and Bela Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, the focus of the evening was undoubtedly on Matsuev's performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Second Concerto in C Minor.
Originally from Irkutsk, Siberia, Denis Matsuev moved to Moscow to study in the renowned Moscow State Conservatory with the legendary Sergei Leonid Darensky. Matsuev went on to win several international competitions, until he finally won the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1998. Since then, he has given recitals around the world, in prestigious concert venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City, and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, among others. Matsuev has performed with the Russian National Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic, Lithuanian National Orchestra, Flemish Radio Orchestra, and Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of such conductors as Vladimir Spivakov, Mikhail Pletnev, and Vladimir Fedoseyev.
As in every performance, the execution of the opening gave the audience a subconscious feeling of what was to come. In the first nine chords of Rachmaninoff's concerto, the harmonic, rhythmic, and dynamic structure create an incredible build-up of tension. Instead of bringing the audience along on this journey from pianissimo to fortissimo in just nine measures, Matsuev had already boomed out a healthy forte by the third measure, and quickly proceeded to a harsh fortissississimo by the seventh measure.
There he realized that he had nowhere left to go within the piano's capabilities, and banged out the incessant F in the bass, completely eliminating any hope of preserving even the slightest remnants of the enigmatic nature of the composition. After a healthy trouncing of the rich arpeggios meant as a harmonically thick accompaniment to the orchestra's opening theme, Matsuev successfully brought the bass notes to the audience with a blow. You could sense the power of each one even if you weren't listening by simply watching his aggressive movements with the piano.
Although Matsuev's phrases were naturally long and winding, he interjected them with mannered accents where they obviously did not belong--a fault that was apparent whether one knows the piece or not. These heavy-handed notes splintered Rachmaninoff's polished melody line, which was frustrating. The concerto's second theme begs to be played as if it were being sung, but the soloist failed. It was a mere pity at first, as Matsuev's performance was just tainted by a few little problems, but his playing soon started to nag on the audience.
However, it's hard not to commend Denis Matsuev's technical abilities; his hands, his octaves, runs, chords--were all brilliant. The 12 years, which he claims to have spent practicing this work, were laid bare to the audience. In fact, sometimes it became obvious to the audience that he was too conscious of his abilities, and, wanting to take advantage of them, rightly deserved to flaunt them.
However, the way in which he chose to show off these not-so-rare-anymore abilities to the audience was to play even faster, to demonstrate that no one else can play octave runs like him. Each time he did this--in all three movements, especially in the last--he rushed the orchestra so that Maestro Abbado was no longer able to bring the soloist and orchestra together. Matsuev's technical braggadocio affected the quality of his playing, and even the most basic elements of his performance, the correct notes, suffered.
After the performance, Mr. Matsuev answered a few questions. He was apprehensive about the interview until we switched from English to Russian. When asked about his performance, he took his time to respond, "I am never happy with myself. I have performed this concerto thousands of times, all over the world, [in places] where everyone knows every note of the concerto, and therefore it is important to find something new in it each time that I play it. This work has become almost pop music, and therefore, I play it a new way -- I almost improvise. I believe that is the way that no one will get sick of it. It is a big honor to play with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, with Maestro Abbado. From the first moment, the Maestro, the orchestra and I began a great working relationship. It was easy - almost as if we all had an understanding of 'how it is supposed to be.' I believe that tonight was pretty good. I'm happy."
He went on to explain that, in addition to his classical studies, he loves to play jazz, and it is a great influence on his classical playing. As for his influences, he was quick to name "of course such pianists as Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gillels, Vladimir Horowitz, and other Russian masters [who] had an unbelievable influence on me. From composers: probably Rachmaninoff and Liszt. Rachmaninoff was an incredible composer, a phenomenal pianist, a tremendous conductor, and an unquestionable influence upon my musical development and playing. Liszt is a separate issue - I feel like I relate to him by temperament, and the way that he approaches performance, as one can tell just by examining his compositions. His fiery, passionate personality, his romanticism - it is all mine."
Matsuev may have been, in a sense, right about his own playing: he did try to find something new in the piece, just this pursuit to be different took away from an overall message and structure of the piece as a whole. Recognizing the basic shape of the work as a whole is essential to the execution of the work, and Matsuev's failure to do so doesn't hold water as "bringing something new" to the concerto. Nevertheless, Denis Matsuev made Sergei Rachmaninoff's music ring true, and the audience shot up from their seats in a passionate applause with the final four chords.
