Piano Concerto in G K453 - Mozart
Don Juan - Strauss
Symphony No 5 - Tchaikovsky
The European Union Youth Orchestra, as it has been heard in Dublin, is in many ways a law unto itself. At the National Concert Hall on Monday, it was not so much an orchestra as the orchestral equivalent of fortified wine. The added kick was revealed regularly throughout the evening, and the extra numbers even necessitated the opening of one of the stage doors to accommodate some members of the double bass section.
The orchestra was well trimmed back for the opening item, Mozart's Piano Concerto in G, K453, which featured Vladimir Ashkenazy in the dual role of soloist and conductor. Concerto performances directed from the keyboard of a lid-less piano are not always the most satisfying of concert experiences. Although Ashkenazy couldn't avoid some loss of focus in piano tone, he fully surmounted the many challenges of balance and presence that he faced. His approach to this most perky of Mozart concertos was chirrupy and mercurial. Orchestra and conductor went into high gear for the rest of the programme, with playing in the brash, in-your-face style that has characterised most of the music-making I've heard over the years from the EUYO. The flat surfaces that generally prevailed in the orchestra's typically high-adrenaline delivery became wearing, and the rip-roaring climaxes, which carry an excitement all their own, were not exactly the sort of contrast or relief that was most called for.
The emotional tugging of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony bore the narrowness of the expressive domain more successfully than Strauss's Don Juan. And the symphony's helter-skelter finale will surely linger long in the memory of all who heard it.
