The „Manfred” Overture Op. 115 by Robert Schumann, undoubtedly one of the best symphonic works by the composer, was the perfect opening of the concert of Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leopold Hager, who was able to add a certain Viennese touch to the sound. After the promising opening the stage was reigned by Elisabeth Leonskaja, a pianist settled in Vienna for over thirty years. Her performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major Op. 15 was simply outstanding, full of rhythmic energy and joy of playing. This optimistic work was given youthful, cheerful interpretation to, Leonskaja superbly played the dialogues with orchestra. In the first movement, where motives were announced in the woodwinds, she took them literally whenever possible, repeating the way the orchestra member played it, and then she was developing her own view upon it, thus showing not only the great musicianship and sense of concertante playing, but also exploring the score to the full. Her noble sound and great personality created a charming atmosphere in Largo, contrasted with the cheerful, scherzando mood of the Rondo. It was an excellent performance and the audience demanded more music form the great pianist who responded with Chopin’s Nocturne in D flat major Op. 27 No. 2.
After the intermission a young pianist Marc Yu was presented in Chopin’s Allegro Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante in E flat major Op. 22 played in a version with orchestra. The Ludwig van Beethoven Association is consequent in helping young promising artists to be spotted by the musical world. This was how Marc Yu found his way to the 14th Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival.
Two things were immediately obvious from his performance: first, that he is a talented boy with great potential; second, that he is not just yet ready for the physical demands of the concert career. Why should he? He is just a little boy (he is small as for 11-years old)!
The evening was concluded with Schumann’s Symphony No. 3 in E flat major “Rhenish” Op. 97, a superb work with imaginative orchestra writing. The composer’s score is often criticized for overuse of tremolos in strings and for excessive doubling of parts. Those features are there, but they are, in fact, the advantages of the score. Schumann tried to write for an orchestra as if it was one large instrument, therefore he uses a colourful palette of instrumental mixtures. There are imaginative ensembles, such as bassoon that doubles flute, oboe that doubles horn and so on and on. But this is not a doubling per se, the coupled instruments constantly change and almost no two bars are scored the same way. Those changing colours, timbres and sounds were imaginatively performed by Hager and the Orchestra, giving this enjoyable evening a perfect finish.

Krzysztof Komarnicki