Marking the 150th anniversary of Sergei Rachmaninoff's birth, one of today's most exceptionally brilliant pianists recently visited Thailand to collaborate with the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra in a concert supported by B.Grimm.
Of all his phenomenal piano creations, the iconic Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini is perhaps the one which captures the imagination more than any other, and Chinese pianist Zhang Zuo's recent superlative rendition of it at the Thailand Cultural Centre certainly reaffirmed this perception as it thrilled a capacity crowd.
Also known simply as Zee Zee, this New York/Berlin based virtuoso was born in 1989 in Shenzhen, relocating to Germany aged only five to start serious studies. She completed formative training at the highest level back in her home country before pursuing advanced training at New York's Eastman School of Music and Juilliard School in the United States of America. The rounded formation of a truly international musical personality is the result, a musician who has taken the music world by storm.
Conducted by maestro Ayyub Guliyev from Azerbaijan, "Rachmaninoff Celebrates 150" had a Russian theme overall, starting with Tchaikovsky's sparkling Capriccio Italien and concluding with Stravinsky's awe-inspiring The Firebird Suite (1919 version).
Born in 1984, the conductor is still young enough to exude a genuinely excited verve on the podium, whilst old enough to have amassed a wealth of experience in his capacity as a much admired artistic director of the Azerbaijan State Opera and Ballet Theatre. This aspect always comes into play when working with a new orchestra as a visiting conductor for the first time, and from the very opening trumpet fanfare of Capriccio Italien it was clear that he had the undivided attention and respect of the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra.
The concert was under the baton of Ayyub Guliyev.
The trumpet section did themselves proud by getting the concert under way with supreme confidence and conviction. Their bugle-like fanfare projected majestically into the auditorium in much the same way as Tchaikovsky himself would have heard those rousing sounds daily through his Rome hotel window, during his 1880 holiday in Italy -- a military call from the barracks of the famous baths of Caracalla.
The ensuing string section unison possessed the nostalgic air of a Venetian gondolier's song, and the essential deep "Russian" string tone of Tchaikovsky's style was well-conveyed here, whilst the two oboes followed with a delightfully phrased lilting dance tune. Guliyev's tempi became increasingly ambitious towards the final saltarello, testing the technical capabilities of the RBSO ranks to their absolute limits, leading to a fantastically frenzied climax.
Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini is one of those perennial favourites which never becomes any easier for any soloist. Indeed, Rachmaninoff himself acknowledged having occasional problems with some of the variations of his own spectacular masterpiece, despite famously having perhaps the largest hand-span of any pianist in history.
To remedy the problem (ie calm the nerves), the usually non-drinking composer would reportedly sip a single glass of Champagne before performing! On this occasion at the TCC, Zee Zee surely needed no such assistance, assuming from the very first note that kind of top level command of the keyboard which reassures an audience that a flawless interpretation is just about to unfold -- and indeed it did.
The theme and 24 variations are of course based on Paganini's instantly recognisable 24th Caprice In A Minor for solo violin, and the combined violin sections introduced the legendary 1st position theme neatly and without fuss, setting on their course variations 1-10, which effectively constitute a 1st movement Allegro Vivace. Guliyev kept soloist and RBSO rhythmically tight together in expert fashion, attentive to all details in the score, with all orchestral interjections precise and clear, whilst Zee Zee herself was note-perfect and suitably expressive.
Delicate pianistic touch is then most certainly the key to the next much slower and reflective eight variations, which as a group constitute what can be considered the 2nd movement of the piece. The final of these is, of course, one of those irresistible melodies which, when heard, strikes one as surely the most iconic in all music history.
A slowed-down melodic inversion of the Paganini theme, both soloist and orchestra were obviously full of emotion at this crucial moment, variations 19-24 correspondingly constitute what can be thought of as the finale of this work, increasingly frenetic and furiously active as the masterpiece builds to its almighty statement of the Dies Irae -- a mildly amusing demonic nod to the devilish Paganini himself!
This was an exemplary performance of Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini -- a true privilege to witness. Many curtain calls were then rewarded by a dazzling showpiece encore -- Schumann's Intermezzo In E-flat Minor from Carnival Scenes From Vienna.
Stravinsky's The Firebird Suite is a fiendishly difficult orchestral showpiece to pull off in concert, not least because it is so universally known and adored. That hushed chromatic opening in double basses, and then violas, demands the coolest of stage-craft nerves, and the respective RBSO sections did a fine job here of setting up the requisite magical atmosphere, with that mesmerising natural harmonic glissandi effect in the string section particularly well-executed -- a novel effect that the composer was especially proud of when he introduced it to the sophisticated fin de siècle Parisian musical scene. Then ensued the veritable eruption of the firebird and its dance and the firebird's variation, ushered in by the ubiquitously precise playing of clarinet principal Vos Vaneesorn.
The Princess' Khorovod featured a lovingly etched oboe solo by Nuttha Kuankajorn, leading then to the famous Infernal Dance Of King Kashchei -- itself simply electrifying from beginning to end. A wonderfully lush viola section transition then segued to Berceuse (Lullaby), before principal horn Supreeti Ansvananda once again demonstrated the impeccable timing and composure he is well known for, as he ushered in the ecstatically charged finale.
