The Opera Tattler

Lucerne Festival zu Ostern 2013 Sinfoniekonzert 2

* Notes * 
Claudio Abbado and Orchestra Mozart Bologna (pictured left, photograph by Marco Caselli Nirmal) played a second concert at Lucerne Festival last night. The program started with Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 2, played with a smooth lucidity. Martha Argerich returned to the KKL Konzertsaal stage to play Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20. Both soloist and the orchestra played with a remarkable intensity. Argerich plays with such wonderful dexterity and economy of movement, yet with great vitality as well. Excerpts from the incidental music to Rosamunde opened the second half of the concert. The woodwinds sounded verdant. The pianissimo moments in the orchestra were particularly gorgeous. The evening was rounded out by a stunning rendition of Beethoven's Symphony No. 4. The sound was marked by a singular clarity of line and phrasing. The dynamic contrasts were clear. The strings played beautifully in the Allegro ma non troppo.

* Tattling * 
The galleries can be quite nice to sit in, as there are fewer audience members about to misbehave. The view of Martha Argerich's hands from where we were sitting was rather good.

Lucerne Festival zu Ostern 2013 Sinfoniekonzert 1

* Notes * 
Lucerne Festival opened its Jubiläumsjahr yesterday with Claudio Abbado and Orchestra Mozart Bologna (pictured left, photograph by Marco Caselli Nirmal). The early evening performance began with a vibrant rendition of Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3. The woodwinds played with particular exuberance. Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25 followed with Martha Argerich, who missed her previous engagement with the orchestra a few days ago. Argerich played articulately, and with a wonderful sense of breath. After the intermission the orchestra played the Coriolan overture and Mozart's Symphony No. 33. The sound was clear and lively, and Abbado can get a light, dancing quality out of the orchestra, but has fine dynamic control as well.

* Tattling * 
Before Abbado appeared on stage, someone had to go out and remove the music stand at the podium, as it was not needed. In the first piece there was one minor brass error just before the soloist exited the stage to play the trumpet call, and it was almost as if he had left in disgust.

The person in Row 3 Seat 10 of Balcony 4 Right had a prolonged coughing fit during the piano concerto. Many of his fellow audience members gave him pointed stares and he was even (silently) offered cough drops. This person did not have the good sense to leave at the break, and coughed still more in the last piece.