Alban's Blog

Dvorak in Boston

Dvorak in BostonWhat a privilege to be able to play one of the great concertos of all times in one of the most gorgeous halls in the world, Boston Symphony Hall! I played here already three years ago, but I was far too nervous to actually enjoy and live the moment – tonight I was much more at ease, and it felt really special. Actually, today we even had two concerts; the dress rehearsal was an open one, and when I got to the hall at 9 am to practice I saw already many people streaming towards the hall. I got scared, thought, that maybe the rehearsal didn’t start at 10:30 but at 9:30. But no, it was just the free seating which made people come really easy so that could grab the best seat in the house. At 10:30 the house was packed and we didn’t “rehearse” but played a full-powered performance for this lovely audience.I am not a big complainer, but I had moments when I wished I could just stay home and enjoy my life. Tonight was one of the moments which reimbursed me for all the trouble this profession (or calling) brings with it. Playing Dvorak Concerto with Boston Symphony under a conductor like Marek Janowski (for me one of the great living conductors) just pays off anything, and at least on stage the Symphony Hall sounds better than all other halls I have played in – the cello plays more or less on its own. Audience wonderful, very attentive and apreciative at the end, and I must admit, I am really sad that already a third of my time in Boston is over 🙁

The last concerto my mother heard me play live before she died was the Dvorak in Cologne about one year ago, and whenever I play it now, I have to remember her incredibly profound reaction right afterwards. She was so touched because she knew it was the last time she would ever be able to hear me in concert (I knew it as well), and since I owe her so much (without her patience I would never ever have developped the stamina and musicianship I did develop at the end), the Dvorak has become an even closer piece to me. Dvorak himself had heard about the death of his sister-in-law Josephine, whom he actually loved (couldn’t get her, so he married the sister), and when he heard about her death, he wrote this to me most amazing Coda, the end of the concerto, which adds a completely different level to the piece, actually similarly to the Elgar.

Both these concertos I see as rather introvert with their shares of passionate out-breaks, but even then there is a pensive quality. Isn’t that what cello is all about anyway? We are not this source of loud noise but much rather soulful and mourning, and the Dvorak incorporates these cello-qualities at its best, putting all the other concertos in a shadow, because the whole piece is just far too perfect to be true. And whenever there is a conductor who doesn’t accompany but anticipates and takes the lead at times, who provides the performance with a much needed inner beat, the beauty of this “symphony with cello obligato”comes out even more and transforms the world into a better place, at least for 40 minutes.

Now back in my hotel room after spending the evening with my old friend Chee-Yun who happened to be in town I better get some rest, otherwise the private performance for the UBS Bank might be endangered tommorrow… 🙂

Comments

  • Michelle

    Hello Alban,

    Congratulations on your amazing performance tonight!!! I was so touched by your playing and interpretaion of Dvorak Cello Concerto.

    I still cannot forget your Boston debut of Schumann Cello Concerto as well as your master class at BU three year ago. They are very inspiring. I wish you can come to Boston often.

    Bravo! Enjoy your stay in Boston!

    Best,
    Michelle ^^

    Reply
  • Michael Chen

    Dear Alban:
    Hearing your Dvorak last night truly rejuvenated my faith in this mighty concerto, which has been so overplayed, often “mindlessly” and with too much testosterone and too little thought. What I heard was essentially an expanded Symphonic Lied for the cello both poised and poignant, with an expansive sonic landscape and color unfolding with such commitment and passion at an elastic, unhurried and organic pace before us. Your phrasing conveyed nuanced combination of color and touch with a loving logic, both unpredictable at the moment yet inevitable in the end. It bridged the outward and inward moments so effectively , giving the much needed inner life an authentic and genuine voice – kind of like hearing Brahms’ Piano solo intermezzi-like sentiment crystallized inside the symphony. It is always very special for me when a piece is presented with a Sing-Speak quality in a storytelling mode and your rendition last night was one of the most communicative music-speak I can remember. When I was a teenager, I had the privilege of hearing the late French cellist
    Pierre Fournier in the Bach unaccompanied suites. The night of the performance, news came that his wife had just passed away and we all expected the recital to be canceled. On the contrary Fournier insisted on playing and those Bach that came out from the old man’s cello was as overwhelming as hearing the Saint Matthew Passion. His delivery engulfed and liberated us simultaneously. Your Dvorak , for me, was very close to that and I thank you for it.

    When I first saw the makeup of orchestra prior to the Dvorak, I was disappointed that most of the Principal Woodwind players were not there. Fortunately our Principal Oboist, John Ferrillo, elected to anchor the section. He is, to me, one of the greatest oboists in the world,
    comparable to even the Principals in Berliner Philharmoniker or the Concertgeboew but without an ego.Interesting that he also elected to skip the “Pastoral” Symphony afterwards!

    Now I really regret that I didn’t hear your Schumann with the Boston Symphony years ago. It is one of my favorite cello work and the first time I heard that piece was also a revelation – Herr Heinrich Schiff.

    I apologize for our rainy November weather but somehow I think it fits the Dvorakian Bohemian mood! I hope you will return to Boston soon bring some Haydn, Brahms Double, some modern pieces or may be a recital?

    All the best,
    Michael

    Reply
  • Dave

    Alban,

    Great concert last night (Thu) at Symphony Hall! I truly loved your more introspective reading of the Dvorak, it worked on every level. Please come back to Boston again and again and again!! I appreciate your comments about Marek Janowski, because he has done some good work here in Boston (particularly Bruckner), but last night’s performance of Beethoven’s 6th was embarrassing. If I were to write a review of that performance, it would begin with something like: “What an unexpected surprise to hear a performance of Beethoven’s 6th in which Beethoven is in such a rush to get back to his life in the city.” Or to put it in other terms, if Beethoven had meant for the 6th symphony to last 36 minutes, he would have written many fewer notes.

    Warm regards,
    Dave

    Reply
  • José

    Greetings!

    This morning I woke up humming one of the themes from this lovely piece of music! What a wonderful performance! …..my companion who had never heard the Dvorak was deeply touched by both the beauty of the music and the intensity and excellence of your playing. This being one of my favorite pieces of music it was quite a treat to finally experience a live performance last night and what a great performance it was!

    Hope you have a nice time in Boston.

    Cheers!

    José

    P.S. we liked your hairstyle very much think you should let it grow longer for added drama when you play. 🙂

    Reply
  • Steve

    Hi Alban,

    Wonderful performance Thursday night. You played beautifully. I had the pleasure of sitting in the front row and noticed that you seemed to be enjoying the playing of the orchestra as much as I was. I hope you get the opportunity to come back to Boston soon.

    All the best,

    Steve

    Reply
  • Alban

    Hi Steve, Jose and Michelle,
    thanks for your nice words, I’ll try to do them justice tommorrow – it’s going to be the fourth peformance (tonight’s performance ain’t public, it’s for the UBS Bank), and this is always the toughest, I feel. Some people say it’s the second one, but I disagree – No.4 is harder since one tends to run out of ideas and the danger is that the player starts coming up with crazy stuff, just to entertain him- or herself plus the orchestra… But knowing this I will try to avoid it!

    Hi Dave, glad you enjoyed my Dvorak, but I must admit that I disagree with you concerning the Beethoven – I loved Janowski’s interpretation very much, I didn’t feel any rush but an amazing energy and passion. I wrote in another blog that it is a very common danger to get used to a certain way pieces are being played (you may call it “tradition”), but often this traditional way is not really what the composers intended. Especially the so-called slow movement of the Pastorale is not a slow movement, it is an Andante molto mosso – which means a walking speed with a lot of movement. This does sound indeed rather busy and unusual compared to the standard performances, but I must say, for me that is the only way how I can and want to listen to that movement in particular, otherwise the whole sense behind it disappears. Beethoven is describing a little river there, and if the moving sixteenth-notes get stuck, all we hear will be nice harmonies, but it doesn’t give the impression of this gorgeous natural scene.
    Also the last movement is overwritten with Allegretto, and in his original manuscript Beethoven even marked it quasi Allegro. I am really curious what the reviews will say, but for me this symphony sprang to life yesterday.
    Best wishes and keep on supporting the arts in these financially tough times!
    Alban

    Reply
  • Alban

    Dear Michael,

    I am deeply honoured and flattered that you mention the name Pierre Fournier together with mine – I know I don’t belong there, but it is very kind to read that somebody felt a similar emotion after listening to me as he has listening to one of my heroes. What a wonderful cellist he was, so much finesse, musicality and heart. I heard him once life, but he was already very old and not well, played the Lalo and got lost a couple of times – but still his aura and his deep musicianship came through and touched everybody in the hall.
    Yes, I loved the oboe playing, very inspiring, great wood wind section, I thought (especially beginnning of slow movement, have rarely heard it so beautiful!)

    All best,
    Alban

    Reply
  • Bonnie

    Alban,

    I heard you at the dress rehearsal Thursday. Your playing was wonderful, especially the cantabile high notes in the last movement: sweetness without getting too sentimental. Dvorak concerto is always worth another hearing, it stands up well,but hearing you play it is a real treat.

    As to the Beethoven – can’t resist getting in on this conversation – for Beethoven I like brisk tempos and an interpretation that leans more to the classical than the high romantic. I grew up listening to NY Phil complete recording of the Beethoven symphonies with Bernstein, the fastest tempi anyone was doing at that time. Regarding the Thursday dress rehearsal, I would like a little more Gemütlichkeit in the second movement (it just seemed a bit businesslike) and the contrast of a second movement that is decidedly slower. Just an opinion.

    Hope to hear you again soon in Boston!

    Bonnie

    Reply
  • Maddie

    Dear Mr. Gerhardt,
    Hi! I’m a nine year old cellist and I saw your concert last night. I think that you played very well and it was my favorite concert in the history of concerts. You looked very serious as you played, although not in a bad way. It must have been really hard to memorize that long piece. I’m having trouble with my bow hold. Do you have any advice for me?

    Your-friend-who-sat-in-row-X-but-had-binoculars-to-see,
    Maddie

    Reply
  • Alban

    Bonnie, yes, you are right, the second movement could have been at times a bit more relaxed, but I really liked the flow of it – the pulse was definitely what an Andante molto mosso would be, anything slower would be Andante or even Adagio, but you are right, it did sound busy, because Beethoven wrote many notes into this moving pulse. Maybe this is easier with a smaller orchestra, I mean fewer strings who can hear each other better on stage? Thanks for your nice words, and yes, I like the Dvorak to be expressive but not overly sentimental – this music goes very deep, there is no place self-indulged sentimentality.

    Dear Maddie,
    thanks for writing! You are right, I felt very serious last night, I must admit, more serious than the nights before – the performance didn’t come easy to me, it was a bit of a struggle, and also I wanted to convey something else than in the nights before, and this was not an easy task either. The memorizing process was not difficult with that piece, because it is all so logical that you could almost learn it without the cello. My teachers always wanted me to play everything by heart from early on, which helped develop my memory so that now I can play the most complex modern scores by heart. This is work, but very rewarding work, since I feel I only really know a piece, when I know it by heart. Bow hold? Biggest secret, very difficult to teach or explain; one simple advice would be: lots of open strings, to work the bow without using the left hand, and trying to find the position where you feel most comfortable – I still do open strings every day before I start practising!
    Best wishes,
    Alban

    Reply
  • Michael Chen

    Hi Alban:
    I listened to Saturday evening’s Dvorak on the radio and found it quite different from Thursday night’s rendition. The opening sounded urgent, intense and had an Schumannisque impatience to it while the more reflective, deliberating inner parts retained the expansive sense of considered thoughtfulness. On the balance I liked the Thursday’s elasticity and flexible imagination more. All this peaks to the importance of attending concert live: each occasion is different, inspires different angles and ideas. And the cello sounded so much more “multi-dimensional” live than the compressed, closely microphoned radio broadcast sonic space. Would love to hear you in the Brahms Double but I guess I have to wait…..at least I have tickets to hear Bruckner 8th and Mahler 3rd next month in Berlin under Thielemann and Mehta respectively….shouldn’t complain:))

    All best,
    Michael

    Reply
  • Mike

    Thank you for your incredibly sensitive and heart-wrenching Dvorak. I attended the Thursday evening performance and frankly have never seen in my 20 years of concerts at Symphony recalled such an ovation as you received. At intermission, none the less! Well deserved and congratulations.

    It was both charming and somehow gratifying to see someone at the top of his game, both a bit nervous at performing and flattered by the attention. Gratifying because it means you still love what you do, respect the work, and understand what it means to perform!

    (and a blog…how 21st century.)

    Reply
  • David Nice

    Greetings, Alban – I was a bit misled by the line underneath which advertised your all-star Messaien on 1 December – it’s 10 December here at the Wigmore (so maybe 1 Dec is somewhere else?). Looking forward to it hugely, especially other known quantities, great Mr. Osborne and the inspirational Krikku (Hagner I don’t know but I guess must be in the same league).

    Best wishes, David

    Reply
  • David Nice

    And ‘Kriikku’, too. I should write out his name one hundred times until I get it right. Mind you, these Finns make life difficult for non-Kalevalans. Do you reckon that spelling and name-accessibility sometimes gets in the way of international careers? I wonder this especially about the many fine Lithuanian musicians I know. Whereas people love the supposed ‘exoticism’ of a Russian name…

    Reply

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