Debussy
Printemps
Saariaho
Quatre Instants
Stravinsky
The Firebird
Karita Mattila (soprano)
Saint Louis Symphony
David Robertson
Reviewed by: Gene Gaudette
Reviewed: 10 March, 2012
Venue: Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall, New York City
Debussy’s early Printemps – written in 1887 but lost in a fire and reconstructed in 1912 from a piano score – is harmonically more conservative and thickly scored than his other orchestral works. The St Louis Symphony was nearly note-perfect in the first section, though a bit spare on incisive attacks and phrasing, a hair too quiet in the winds, and completely lacking in sweep and passion. The second part fared far better. David Robertson maintained exemplary balances, evoking abundant character and luscious orchestral color that left a strong impression.
Kaija Saariaho’s Quatre Instants is only somewhat effective in evoking the texts and moods of four French poems of Amin Maalouf exploring various aspects of love – ‘Longing’, ‘Torment’, ‘Perfume of the Moment’, and ‘Echoes’. The Finnish composer’s penchant for Technicolor orchestration does little to help the sung lines take flight, and passages have a heavy, static quality often at odds with the poems, though the more wrenching passages of ‘Torment’ were surprisingly effective. The performance by Karita Mattila, for whom the work was written, would have been more effective had it been a degree or two more subtle. Mattila’s dynamic range and breath control were commanding, but her French diction was often too softly focused.