The Emperor (13 Sep 2012)

Venue: Esplanade Concert Hall
Conductor: Darrell Ang
Pianist: Arnaldo Cohen

Programme:

Richard Wagner - Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg
Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Concerto No.5 in E-flat major, Op. 73 'Emperor'
Robert Schumann - Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 97 'Rhenish'

The first piece by Wagner was average, though I was more interested in the description of Richard Wagner in the concert programme booklet. 

'In some societies Wagner's music is still banned, not for musical reasons but out of disgust for a man who, by anybody's standards, was a moral degenerate. He stole other men's wives, conned money out of royalty and political leaders, spent time in a debtors' jail, was so deeply implicated in the Dresden uprising of 1849 that a warrant was issued for his arrest and execution (he avoided it by escaping to Switzerland disguised as a coachman), and was so fervent in his anti-Jewish sentiments that he was regarded as a hero by the Nazi regime in Germany.'

Beethoven's Emperor piano concerto was clearly the highlight of the evening, performed by Brazilian pianist Arnaldo Cohen. Compared to the first piece, the orchestra for this piano concerto was scaled down quite a bit, and I found the opening note - a powerful E flat chord - rather lacking by the orchestra. From there, there were several more painfully obvious occasions of discordance between the piano and orchestra, but after that, they managed to move in tandem and harmony. The second movement was executed cleanly and neatly, and his touch was deft. The final movement was bright, clear, and lively, though the exchange between the piano and timpani was rather awkward as the piece approached the end. But overall, the piece was still rather enjoyable.

My liking for Schumann's Rhenish symphony grew after watching the 2009 movie, Clara, which was about Robert Schumann's wife, Clara Schumann. The name 'Rhenish' actually comes from the River Rhine, where Schumann enjoyed a cruise with his wife, and (ironically) also where he tried to commit suicide several years later. The symphony consists of five movements, and the first movement started with a strong opening, representing the power of the River Rhine. The second movement's Rhineland dance form was not brought out well enough, but the rest of the movements were still all right.