“luminous orchestral refinement”
Ahead of their European tour together, the Jussen brothers joined ASMF, directed from the violin by Tomo Keller, in a programme from Prokofiev’s visions to Mozart and Bach’s double-keyboard concertos, and closing with Haydn’s playful Farewell Symphony.
The concert opened with Rudolf Barshai’s string arrangement of Prokofiev’s Visions Fugitives, Op.22, a rare pleasure to enjoy live. The ASMF orchestra well conveyed the piece’s chamber-like intimacy. There was a deliberately woody quality to the bowing to temper the brightness of the string, while the cello bow’s light tapping felt crisp, crystal and delicate. However, the ensemble maintained certain level of theatricality reminding you of the cinematic scale in Prokofiev’s original.
Mozart’s Concerto in F major, K.242, originally written for three pianos, were performed here in two pianos with the Jussen brothers. The duo was perfect in their techniques and their coordination was extraordinary: they made two pianos sound almost like one. Such nature born gift is rare, and few duos could sustain so effortlessly. But in a way, this also sacrificed the concerto’s dialogic nature. All those conversing, teasing, answering or even resisting bits were largely missing here.
What I found more difficult was their interpretation. In short, there seemed to be little vision or expression. There was not enough legato, nor enough sense of phrasing. The performance lacked certain rhetorical articulation or inflection that could allow the piece breathe. Instead, the notes were simply played and the phrases moved forward with little inner life. This also made the duo feel slightly incompatible with the ensemble, whose performance caressed the score with understated tenderness and fine texture, leaving the pianos felt curiously flat.
The Jussens were more convincing in Bach’s Double Keyboard Concerto No.1 in C minor, BWV 1060, especially in the Adagio where their playing eventually found a degree of lyricism. Still, even in Bach, there remained a slight hammering quality to the sound and the mismatch persisted. While the ensemble’s Bach was supple and elegant, the pianos struggled to blend into that sonority. Haydn’s Symphony No.45 in F-sharp minor, the naughty “Farewell”, brought back ASMF at its finest and most familiar. The unusual key already gives the symphony a distinctive colour, and ASMF brought out its unsettled brightness with remarkable finesse. The woodwinds, especially in the Adagio, shimmered in and out with a beautiful, almost magical half-lit quality with greatest precision. The ensemble was so finely locked-in, and the famous final descent into silence, carefully curated by Haydn, was as satisfying to watch as it was to hear. As players gradually left the stage, the audience responded with knowing laughter that truly fulfilled the night.