The presence of Iván Fischer with the New York Philharmonic this week occasioned the rediscovery of a compelling composition from the Hungarian conductor’s homeland. The NY Phil last performed Ernő Dohnányi’s Symphonic Minutes in 1940, seven years after its premiere, with Sir John Barbirolli conducting. Limning Romanticism and Modernism, folk figures and classical styles, the five-movement suite should be heard more often, and it showed off the impressive sonic dimensions of the newly remodeled Geffen Hall.
Pizzicato strings underpinned bright, edgy woodwinds in the opening Capriccio, and the English horn solo that launched the succeeding Rapsodia floated with hazy, haunting delicacy. The brass fanfares in the Scherzo emerged with welcome subtlety, as the new aural capabilities of the hall allowed the section to maintain volume without becoming overpowering. A beautifully suspended harp in the Tema con Variazioni led into the brilliant tuttis of the moto perpetuo Rondo, suggesting a true concerto for orchestra. Fischer tied the five sections together with an unerring sense of forward momentum.
Sir András Schiff, Fischer’s countryman and the Philharmonic’s current artist-in-residence, joined in the Eastern European fun for a performance of Bartók’s Piano Concerto no. 3, Sz 127. Composed in the final year of Bartók’s life and completed by his student Tibor Serly, the unsettled nature of the piece certainly suggests a mind wrestling with mortality. Schiff brought out the many jagged edges of the piece without sacrificing lyrical phrasing, and his dynamic range ideally matched Fischer’s within the orchestra. When the strings and brass blustered in the Allegretto, his piano line lumbered above them with forcefulness in the staccato notes, which he maintained in volume throughout the solo passages. He whispered alongside the musicians in the Allegro religioso. Schiff brought a muscular sound to the Allegro vivace that could suggest the final burst of energy before death.
To build a bridge between the concert’s first half and its second, Schiff offered the first movement of Mozart’s Piano Sonata no. 16 in C major, K545 as an encore, making exquisite use of the color palette of the Bösendorfer he so often prefers. This transition led to the Symphony no. 41 in C major, “Jupiter”, as famous as the opening Dohnányi is obscure. The pared-down ensemble delivered a pleasant performance that provided little fresh insight on the piece. Although Fischer drew some beautiful phrasing, especially in the Andante cantible, this was familiar, blended, big-orchestra Mozart. Nothing wrong with that, but I left wishing Fischer had instead reached into his trunk for another Hungarian rarity.
