San Francisco Classical Voice, March 17, 2003

Ever since the Czech pianist Ivan Moravec began to establish himself in this country in the 60ās as one of the worldās distinguished pianists he has been better known for his performances of solo repertoire than for those with orchestra. The Santa Rosa symphony decided to correct this by presenting him in two concertos on their program last week, works containing no less than three sets of variations. 

The Ravel G major and Franck Symphonic Variations, works that are essentially dialogues between the soloist and orchestra, gave Moravec a chance to demonstrate the subtleties of his art. While his playing does not lack brilliance, Moravec is a patrician artist. Rather than overwhelming you, he lays nuance upon nuance, letting the music speak without rhetoric.

The Ravel concerto was played like chamber music, the piano moving gracefully in an out of the texture. Conductor Jefferey Kahane, who recently performed this concerto with the San FranciscoSymphony, was a most sympathetic collaborator. In the slow movement the rapport between pianist and the orchestra brought out the harmonic balances and exquisite piano filigree that embroider the wind solos. The outer movements benefited from Moravecās wonderfully incisive articulation and imparted an irresistible verve and Žlan.

Pace, pace·

Kahane and Moravec continued their dialogue in the Franck Variations, emphasizing the more dignified and sober aspects of the score. I especially enjoyed the ruminative arpeggios in the piano part before the trills come in. Moravec seemed to be counseling peace to the despairing cellos. The magical sounds he drew from the instrument could have calmed the proverbial savage beast. There might have been more sparkle in the finale, a romp and the musical equivalent of champagne.

The mood turned serious again with the final work, Hindemithās Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes by Weber. Kahane made a convincing case for the music, which was among the first that Hindemith completed after seeking asylum in the U.S. in 1943. Stylistically the work is a bit of a pastiche, devising all manner of witty transformations of 4-hand piano ditties by C.M. von Weber. If the fugue subject in the second movement pleads its case a few times too often, the passionate conviction the orchestra brought to its jazzy character and the freedom which it represented, made it seem completely justified.

Before he raised his baton, Kahane spoke out against then still-impending war in Iraq and it was clear that his audience doesnāt just support him as an exceptionally fine musician. Their response galvanized the orchestra in the most committed performance of the evening. It is ironic that what was originally intended as a tribute to the freedom Hindemith found in the United States could be used as a protest again the misuse of that freedom. Such is the malleability of music.

The program began with Brahms Variations on a theme by Haydn, which sounded as if it were being played by a first rank orchestra, which I suppose the Santa Rosa symphony is.

(Jerry Kuderna is a pianist who teaches at Diablo Valley College.)

©2003 Jerry Kuderna, all rights reserved