Schiff shows energetic shift in dexterity
After enthralling concert-goers with storming performances of all four Rachmaninov piano concertos with Russian giant Mikhail Pletnev, London's Philharmonia Orchestra has charged into a similar survey of Mendelssohn's work almost without pausing for breath. An additional novelty is soloist Andras Schiff conducting from the keyboard.
The Royal Festival Hall, with seats directly behind the concert stage, provides a wonderful vantage point for watching conductors. Normally the conductor has his back to the audience, only turning round when he takes a bow. But in these 'choir' seats you feel like an orchestra member as the conductor faces the audience, exhorting you towards more fortissimo or a bit more pianissimo.
Schiff positioned the piano to directly face the orchestra so, for once, the whole audience - not just those on the left - had a chance to view the pianist's hands. Schiff had also removed the piano lid so his view of the orchestra would not be obscured.
It is uncommon, nowadays, to have piano concertos conducted from the keyboard and at first the effect can be startling. One minute Schiff was sitting on his stool monitoring his hands as they flashed furiously on the keyboard, then suddenly, with the first orchestral passage, he leapt to his feet waving his bare hands vehemently at the orchestra. Just in the nick of time, he landed back on the piano stool and carried on where he had left. At one point Schiff played a soft, sweet passage with his right hand while energetically beating time for the strings with his left.
This activity at times made Schiff look apoplectic. He would suddenly appear above the piano glowering at the musicians and shaking his head in a jowl-trembling fury while making frantic upward motions with his hands. Were he allowed to speak he would have been roaring.
But appearances are often misleading. What seemed like fury was in fact passion. Schiff pulled off two irresistible performances that are not usually ranked in the upper echelons of Mendelssohn's oeuvre.
Schiff, noted for the balance of his programming, organised a rather elegant framing for the two Mendelssohn concertos. Both were flanked by Mozart and Haydn symphonies, including two of Haydn's later symphonies written while he was living in London, hence nicknamed the 'London' symphonies. Schiff nurtured the elegant vitality of these works delivering them with an engaging freshness. This was particularly true of Haydn's Symphony No.102, composed for his last London visit in 1795. Schiff brought out the robust cheerfulness while conveying the work's impressive grandeur.
The two concerts were a delightful culmination of an association with the Philharmonia, which encouraged the best in both orchestra and soloist.
