The sun wasn’t the only one shining happily on Saturday morning when the Salzburg Festival held a very high-quality matinee concert. Gustavo Dudamel conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in Richard Strauss’ “Alpine Symphony” and Asmig Gregorian’s “Four Last Songs.” The event was already considered a highlight and delivered what it promised.
Gregorian, a favorite since her triumph as Salome in Salzburg, recorded Strauss’s “Four Last Songs” on CD in two versions in the spring: once with festival director Markus Hinderhäuser’s piano accompaniment and once in an orchestral version. He presented the latter in the first part of the Dudamel and Vienna Philharmonic concert. Together they let the songs shine in their most brilliant colors. Gregorian created refreshing nuances and shadows with penetrating intensity that both conductor and orchestra were happy to emulate. The only drawback: comprehension of the text. Hesse and Eichendorff on the show, or anyone who wasn’t in front of them, fell behind in terms of content in all four songs. Nevertheless, the audience showered the soprano with applause for her performance.
As the sun lit up and warmed the Festspielkas during intermission, a storm was brewing in the Great Festival Hall: Strauss’s “Alpine Symphony”. The composer basically composed music 24 hours a day on a mountain. It is Strauss’s last completed tone poem, and he is said to have said that he finally learned to play an instrument through it. Gustavo Dudamel and the Vienna Philharmonic were almost as impressive in this instrumental art and created a far-reaching tonal panorama. Strauss probably had the Bavarian Alps in mind when composing, while Dudamel had the Venezuelan Andes in mind, which go up to 5,000 meters. As the high climb progressed, Dudamel flexed the muscles of the mountain and his band. If you were actually on a mountain during the “thunder and storm, get off” passage, it would have been nice to get to a shelter. Dudamel took the audience on a colorful and engaging tour for almost 50 minutes before they returned the favor with a storm of applause.
(By Larissa Schutz/ABA)
(Concert will be held again on Service – August 25.)
