IPORappaport Auditorium, HaifaJuly 8
With accolades and mighty applause from the audience, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra closed its 2023-24 season in Haifa at the Rappaport Auditorium. The successful program showcased two very different works.
The first was the Triple Concerto by Ludwig von Beethoven, performed by violinist Guy Braunstein, cellist Haran Meltzer, and pianist Lahav Shani, who is also the orchestra’s music director.
It is the only concerto Beethoven wrote for more than one solo instrument plus orchestra, and is a masterful combination of genres; not only trio ensemble requiring the virtuosity of each soloist, but also music on a grander scale that requires the expertise of trio members to coordinate their music with the orchestra.
The piece begins with Meltzer, principal cellist of the IPO laying out the first theme. Beethoven gave the cello an unusual position as leader whose role in all three movements is to initially present the first theme. Meltzer did so with a clear, sweet tone, which was finely answered, musically speaking, by Braunstein, a noted violinist. The clear “musical conversation” evidenced by the two artists was a delight to hear.
Then pianist Shani entered the conversation with his virtuoso sparkle and skill. Always present was the sense of communication between the three soloists, who were expressly cognizant that they were only part of the total musical experience.
Conductor Shani led the orchestra from his place at the piano. However, due to the stage set up, he was hidden from the eyes of many of the orchestra members. Therefore, he had a double challenge: first, to establish the initial tempo of the orchestra’s entrance, and second, to communicate and create the overall chamber orchestra sound the piece calls for. Despite the logistic obstacles, communication was established and, overall, the Triple Concerto, a blend of sounds of the chamber and orchestra, was a smashing success.
Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 Shines with amazing sounds and memorable melodies
Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 filled the second half of the concert with a lush and rich sound the IPO is known for. This listener heard people in the audience commenting they had heard the orchestra play this symphony just a few days previously in Tel Aviv and traveled to Haifa for the joy of hearing it again.
Tchaikovsky begins his Symphony No. 5 in a somber whisper from the lower strings and ends the fourth final movement with triumphant calls from the brass.
This symphony, written in cyclical style, has themes that reoccur, and are developed and discernible in all four movements. On the one hand, it is full of lilting waltzes popular in Tchaikovsky’s Russia of 1888 and, conversely, these melodies are countered by tragic reflections.
One of the most beautiful moments in the IPO Haifa season’s closing performance of Symphony No.5 was the solo in the second movement by the First French Horn player, who played the long-phrased melody seemingly without taking a breath.
Due to its beauty, this theme has been adapted for films and commercials throughout the 20th century, and even served as the basis for songs by later popular composers, such as John Denver in “Annie’s Song”. It is a melody which lingers in the listener’s subconscious long after it is heard in performance.
This concert was a fitting close to the IPO’s 2023-24 season and a harbinger of good things to come.