Photo credit: Gael Cornier
The Mahler Chamber Orchestra (MCO) founded by Claudio Abbado in 1997 is currently touring America’s west and east coast and on April 23 the ensemble performed at Santa Barbara’s Granada Theatre as part of the University of California, Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures series – with Yuja Wang as pianist and conductor in Chopin and Prokofiev. Miroirs CA’s roving correspondent in Santa Barbara provides impressions of this performance, in collaboration with the Miroirs CA Editor.
This was a concert of thunderbolts and moonbeams; explosive, tender, melodic and had everything. MCO set the mood for the evening and it was immediately apparent they were having a good time. These musicians who come from all different parts of the world, play as one voice – ultra connected and bound with joy. The program opened with Prokofiev’s so-called classical symphony Op. 25, No.1 No. 1, followed by Chopin’s piano concerto, Op. 11, No. 1 and after intermission the Prokofiev piano concerto Op. 16, No. 2
As the ensemble launched into the Prokofiev symphony, led by concert master Matthew Truscott, it was obvious they were having fun. You could see them smiling with pleasure at the music they were making together, almost like a classical jam session, but with exceptional precision. The string section occupied the front of the stage with every player standing for the entire piece, as if they might start dancing. The mood was set for the evening. Then Yuja Wang walked onstage.
Other musical luminaries such as Ashkenazy, Rostropovich and Uchida have enjoyed a dualism as performer-conductor. Wang’s collaborations include the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and New York Philharmonic. As pianist, she can do everything and anything and on this night it was obvious she was having a good time, too.
Wang’s approach to conducting is inseparable from her playing, especially when she rises from the bench, hands in the air to address the orchestra with an emotional outpouring of music, as both the Chopin and Prokofiev concertos have many moments of intensity. The genius of her style is that with hands off the keyboard, she wasn’t just leading orchestra but is part of the music-making - rising from the piano bench to address the orchestral sections then sitting back down to play, without missing a millisecond Chopin’s tender moments or Prokofiev’s fiendish finger-smashing cadenzas with poetry and thunderous dexterity. It’s a rare talent to be able to draw out an intense forte then switch to pianissimo nuances and inner voicing of the music’s sudden shifts of emotion.
Wang is known for her lightening-sharp technical prowess but what really stood out in her playing on this evening was an interpretation infused with deep-toned romanticism as well as a signature wardrobe. She wore backless dresses; before intermission the gown was more like a sequined bathing suit and after intermission a black satin dress with slits from top to bottom. The prime reason for taking in her attire with perhaps six-inch stiletto heels is to observe how she produces this immense, intense power - as her keyboard demeanor is devoid of any muscle straining and emanates pure smoothness that comes from her hands and forearms. It’s a joy to watch.
Yuja Wang’s talent is formidable and on this night, she and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra gifted listeners with an abundance of divine music-making. The audience loved her and after the Prokofiev concerto ended they erupted in applause and shouts that would not stop – bringing flowers onstage and even a teddy bear from someone sitting in the front row. Wang gave back generously, playing encore after encore which included Tsfasman’s Jazz Suite for piano and orchestra (movements 2 & 4), Gluck-Sgambati Melody from Orfeo ed Euridice and Glass Etude No. 6. It was a concert for the ages, dedicated by Yuja Wang and Mahler Chamber Orchestra to the celebrated pianist-conductor-composer Michael Tilson Thomas whose passing had been announced in worldwide news earlier in the day.