Bychkov, Czech Philharmonic close Carnegie run with sparkling Dvořák, mighty Janáček
In the third and last of its Carnegie Hall concerts commemorating the Year of Czech Music, the Czech Philharmonic brought its old-school sound on Thursday to two works that non-Czechs deserve to know better.
Dvořák’s Piano Concerto overflows with attractive tunes, but has been kept waiting in the wings of fame by the severe technical demands it makes on the soloist while, paradoxically, offering few opportunities for overt virtuoso display.
Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass is not your everyday program item either, owing to its spiky folk-modern idiom and the large forces needed to perform it. The church Slavonic language, even when transcribed from the archaic Glagolitic script, is also a barrier.
Thursday’s performances overcame these obstacles in style. A select group of pianists, including András Schiff and Rudolf Firkušný, have made the case for Dvořák’s concerto, and to that list one must now add Daniil Trifonov, whose sovereign technique and musical insight carried the day.
As for the Mass, as soon as one realized that “Slava” and “Věruju” meant “Gloria” and “Credo” one was on more familiar ground, and the native understanding of the Czech musicians under the direction of Semyon Bychkov imparted an irresistible energy and authenticity to the performance.
One could hear Dvořák’s first essay in the concerto genre looking to Schumann and Liszt as models for concertos in a serious symphonic style. (Tchaikovsky’s celebrated Piano Concerto No. 1 was composed only a year before Dvořák’s work, and resemblances between the two are probably coincidental.) The first movement’s orchestral exposition, with its slashing strings and plaintive wind solos, also showed the influence of Brahms.
But the composer’s native Bohemia took over soon enough, the pianist partnering with the orchestra in fetching tunes and infectious rhythms. Amid what one might call the orchestra’s “LP” sound–a smooth blend of silky strings, golden brass, rich woodwinds and pulsing timpani—Trifonov’s playing stood out for its shine and presence, clearly audible in all dynamics. Textures that could easily have become dense or muddy glittered with detail. Stepping alone into the spotlight, Trifonov played the first movement’s cadenza with all the sweep and drama one could wish for.
Soloist and conductor took seriously the second movement’s marking, Andante sostenuto, stretching the tempo to near immobility, and then stretching it some more. They did “sustain” this long meditation admirably, leavening it with a perky new idea in the middle, before closing softly amid airy piano scales and trills.
Pianists have called this concerto’s solo part “awkward” and “ungainly,” but you would never have known it from Thursday’s performance of the finale, as Trifonov seemed to be having a ball taking the hairpin turns and shaking scales and trills out of his sleeves. He and Bychkov made the most of the contrast between the dancing main theme and a dreamy tune that slipped chromatically into distant keys. The latter turned unexpectedly into a triumphant coda, after which Trifonov granted the audience a light-as-air encore, “The Silver Fairy” from Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty, arranged by Mikhail Pletnev.
The concert’s second half began with the presentation of a new award, the Antonín Dvořák Prize, to Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic by the Dvořák American Heritage Association for “extraordinary contributions in the field of music.”
The awardees then proceeded to make another contribution, a vibrant performance of the Glagolitic Mass, beginning with timpani thunder and bold brass, alternating with forest rustlings from the natural world that Janáček called his “cathedral.”
The “Gospodi pomiluj” (Kyrie), entering amid a deep rumble of cellos and brass, featured the chorus clearly intoning the text, and a bit of a rough start for soprano Kateřina Kněžiková, whose strongly supported voice would find its center in later movements and fill the room.
Vivid orchestral colors from twinkling piccolo to growling trombones to bumptious timpani characterized the lengthy “Slava” movement, as the double chorus conversed in euphonious thirds and sixths, with soprano Kněžiková and the ivory-toned tenor Aleš Briscein reaching high to praise the Lord.
“Věruju” found many ways to profess the faith, from the chorus’s ethereal dialogues to tenor Briscein’s frank declarations, and from skipping strings to brassy crescendos. David Leigh’s roomy and well-projected bass joined in just before timpani thumps put an exclamation point on it all.
Mezzo-soprano Lucie Hilscherová’s well-supported voice anchored the solo quartet for “Svet” (Sanctus), which began intimately with a violin solo, but soon burst out in a fortissimo chorus over a heavy beat, further complicated by soloists singing triplets over strings in regular sixteenths, with gleaming brass interjections.
This commotion gave way to the mysterious atmosphere of “Agneče Božij” (Agnus Dei), an exhalation of woodwinds over deep brass as a smooth chorus sang long notes and soloists floated upward. It provided a moment to savor the excellent work of the Czech Philharmonic Chorus, directed by Lukáš Vasilek. At 77 singers strong, the ensemble was small enough to be agile and intelligible and large enough to match sound with the brilliant orchestra.
Organist Daniela Valtová Kosinová burst in on this scene with an urgent organ cadenza, short-breathed and agitated, accelerating to a forte finish, setting the stage for the final “Intrada.”
This orchestral movement, although titled an “entrance,” closed the work with a fast march to pounding timpani and blaring brass, in Janáček’s world more a celebration of nature than a reverent benediction. On this occasion, it felt also like a celebration of a fertile Czech musical year and a successful three-concert run in Carnegie Hall for Bychkov and his able Bohemian crew.
Carnegie Hall presents the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, with baritone Joshua Hopkins, in works by Heggie and Mahler, Jan. 15, 2025. carnegiehall.org
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