Press Service KD Schmid

Translation

Medium: www.concertonet.com Date: 01.06.15

Masterful

Paris Theater of the Champs-Elysées 5/30/2015 - and May 22 (Luxembourg), 27 (Dortmund), June 2 (Vienna) 2015 : no. 3 in F major, opus 90 : Concerto for and orchestra no. 3, opus 37 : , opus 59: Suite Emanuel Ax (piano) The Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin ()

Yannick Nézet-Séguin is considered one of today's greatest conductors. Now in his early forties, he has just announced he will be stepping down from the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in 2018, which he has been leading since 2008, now that his contract with the Philadelphia Orchestra, begun in 2012, has been extended to 2022. While he is a regular of the Theater of the Champs-Elysées, where the Rotterdam Philharmonic is in residence, this was his first time conducting this concert in this hall with the Philadelphia Orchestra, one of several concerts on a major tour of Europe, during which they will be appearing in Luxembourg, Dresden, Dortmund, Lyon, Vienna, Amsterdam and London, in addition to Paris on May 30.

The Paris concert began with the Brahms' Third Symphony, grim and less spectacular than his three other . That is, more difficult to master. But from the very first chords, performed by the woods and brass with a mix of authority and elegance, it was obvious they were up to the challenge. The strings, with their warm tone, elegant phrasing and flawless responsiveness followed suit. Yannick Nézet-Séguin assembled a beautiful, gripping interpretation throughout all four movements, following one another without pause and avoiding the coughing that has infested many a concert. Making use of striking but never overdone contrasts, aptly eliciting lovely nuances, and conducting ruptures with the energy of Brahms transitions, he nevertheless consistently sticks close to the music. The rich fullness of the Brahms orchestra is magnificently served throughout, both musically and expressively, by inspired conducting and a top-level orchestra. With his usual empathy, the Quebec conductor successively draws out all the sections, particularly the cellos, seated American-style (to his right), which have such a critical role in this work. After the initial Allegro con brio, built arch-like and led with conquering energy, comes an airy and transparent Andante, then a sober and refined Poco allegretto, allowing us to hear the magnificent horn solo, before the final Allegro highlighting a fabulous trombone section in the amazing chorale closing a work that is clearly in a class of its own. A distinguished, elegant, but also invigorating and luminous Brahms, which , with whom Yannick Nézet-Séguin studied, would not have disowned.

The rest of the concert remained at the same exceptional level. In Beethoven's Third Concerto for piano, Nézet-Séguin continued to conduct with that blend of authority and

Press Service KD Schmid

Translation charisma that is his hallmark. Here, too, contrasts vie with energy, producing in the end an earthy Beethoven, totally befitting the subtlety of vision of an Emanuel Ax in top form. The dialogue between the piano and the orchestra truly works in both directions, thanks to a musical exchange with which we feel a true bond. And the American pianist gives us a magnificent cadence which, under his fingers, almost seems to herald Liszt. For the encore, Ax and Nézet-Séguin sat down at the piano for a highly refined Brahms' opus 39 no 15, which the conductor presented with humor, like a "Norman break," during this bountiful concert.

If truth be told, the final piece, the Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, can sometimes become hard to swallow. Nothing like that here, though, thanks to a magnificent performance once again highlighting this orchestra's incredible level, here with its full complement, and the various sections being successively called upon. Everything about this music, which, truth be told, can be a bit bewildering, becomes audible and natural, thanks to the supreme elegance of Nézet-Séguin's conducting, which sets aside the excess that some cannot resist adding to this piece. This one brings us much closer to the vision of someone like Carlos Kleiber than to that of a lesser conductor, who would unnecessarily overload this music.

This was a masterful concert, confirming once again the peerless talent of Yannick Nézet- Séguin, who has certainly not ceased to amaze us, and whose interpretive power and mastery remind us of some of the very great conductors of yesteryear. As for the Philadelphia Orchestra, it is more than ever one of the best symphonic ensembles we have today, so we look forward to hearing it soon under better acoustic conditions, at the Philharmonic of Paris.

Gilles Lesur