Hungarian National PO (live stream), 06/05/2021

Debussy : Petite Suite (orch. Büsser)

Rodrigo : Concierto de Aranjuez (András Csáki, guitar)

Bizet : Symphony in C

Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra

Karen Kamensak

Watching live streams from home is certainly not the same as being in a concert hall, on the other hand, the variety of work being made available is tremendous, and offers the opportunity to see performers one might never otherwise see.  The cultural centre Müpa Budapest has been generous in its output, and tonight proposed a particularly charming programme from the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra.  

Debussy's 'Petite suite' was originally written for piano four hands.  It dates from 1907, about the same time as the rather better-known 'Children's Corner', but in a similarly, relatively simple style, readily accessible to most amateur pianists, unlike, for example, the Second Book of Images which also dates from this period.  The most commonly performed orchestral version was made with Debussy's approval, and under his supervision, by Henri Büsser, and this is what was given tonight.  There was a little raggedness in the attacks at the start of En bateau and the end of Ballet, but the two intermediate movements were a delight, a playful, bouncy Cortège, and a wonderfully elegant Menuet, all silk and lavender.  

Precision was much better for the Rodrigo Concerto, perhaps inspired by the crisp, incisive strumming of the initial chords by guitarist András Csáki.  His playing throughout was clean and sharp. his tone for the outer movements was clear, a little metallic, with a distinct undertone of the lute, while for the beautiful, melancholic slow movement his sound became warmer and more lyrical.  It was oboist Eszter Pap who truly set the tone, however, with a lovely mellow sound, eloquent and evocative.

The wind playing of the orchestra in general was notable for its quality from the start of the evening, and when it came to the Bizet, this became particularly important, since the wind-writing defines Bizet's orchestral sound, even in a piece as early as this.  The Symphony in C was a student piece, and written very much in homage to, and under the influence of Bizet's teacher Gounod and Gounod's own Symphony.  This was so much the case that Bizet suppressed his own symphony completely, and it was only rediscovered in the early '30s, but now it is a popular concert item, where its model, the Gounod Symphony, has most definitely faded into the background.

Again, a slightly ragged entry into the first movement was quickly recovered, and Kamensak's well-judged tempi had the music dancing along joyously.  Again, the oboe solo in the second movement was perfectly delivered, soulful and expressive.  This was a thoroughly engaging, effervescent performance, a ray of sunlight and hope, and an irresistible conclusion to an excellent concert.