And the main highlight of my trip to Germany is over on the first day... Although hearing Pollini play in the great hall of the Berlin Philharmonie (as opposed to the smaller stage nearby) is an event in itself, I have to say that I sort of doubt whether today's performance was worth the €36 I paid for the ticket, much less to say the plane ticket all the way from Taiwan. The first half of the program consisted solely of Schubert's most celebrated B flat major sonata (could someone fill me in on which number it is?), and although Pollini's touch in the slow movement was absolutely flawless, he had a tendency to rush when playing in faster passages, to the point that one feels he's muddling his sentences. Somehow this all made a bit more sense in the second half of the concert: actually on the program were the C-sharp minor prelude, Ballade No.4, the Barcarole and Berceuse, and Scherzo No.2, plus a total of three encores: a nocturne in D-flat major, the Revolutionary Etude, and Ballad No.1. My companion said she thought Pollini was "slippery", particularly in the later half of the program after Ballade No.4; I'm more of the opinion that it was mostly because of the acoustics of the place (we were sitting at the back of section C, near the back wall and at a slant toward the stage), but quite possibly Pollini's tendency to rush today may have also played a part. In the end it was a mixed bag; but judging from the nearly 10 curtain calls the audience gave him, he still has his star power!
Oh, and even in a venue like the Berlin Philharmonie, and even with an arguably more "educated" German audience, there are still lots of people who clap in between movements, and even more people making an awful shhing sound. Frankly, I think the shhing is much more rude than clapping at the wrong time. So for those who say Taiwanese audiences are unsophisticated idiots who have no idea of how to attend a classical concert and follow its rituals, I'd say their argument is to a degree moot.
-- from NK Wang's iPad
2 comments:
I tell you the reason for the applause between movements: although Pollini is obviously very popular in Germany, half of the audience consisted of mainly musically not-so-much educated Italians (people who do not normally attend concerts in Italy) who were there possibly just to get a flavour of the Philarmonic with an Italian star performing. No offence intended: I'm Italian and living in Berlin and this is the first time I've seen so many Italians in the Philarmonic.
As to your impressions, all in all a huge performace, real Pollini, rushing included. In his heyday Pollini would rush even faster and still remain mechanically perfect, now he's almost 70... some muddling of passages is difficult to avoid. However, the sound was just great: thanks to Pollini or to the superprepped Steinway/Fabbrini? That is difficult to say. Since 1986 I've attendes several concerts by Pollini and this is one of the best. If you're looking for perfection and musicality (although from a different approach than Pollini), then try and go to a concert by Sokolov. In my opinion, by far the best out there at the moment. Marco
Thanks Marco, I fully agree with you. Pollini is indeed quite old now, so it's somewhat to be expected. Also, a Taiwanese friend whom I met at the concert said that the piano was a Fabbrini – thanks for bringing that up, since I'd forgotten the exact name when I came back to Taiwan!
I was under the impression that opera is still a big thing in Italy, am I wrong?
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