The Meeting with Vienna Philharmonic

If you started listening to the kind of music we are talking about on this blog and you are trying to build an informed collection of its recordings it doesn't take long till you find out about some great orchestras among those you meet on cds and among them a special flavor has the Vienna Philharmonic. They have an aura of super-orchestra and a lot of the great recordings of the century have them as protagonists. So, any occasion to meet and listen to them live is an one-of-a-kind experience.

That's what happened to me and some of my friends just couple of days ago. Vienna Philharmonic visited Houston and we were there for receiving the unexpected gift. And the first thing I have to say is that it was much more then I have expected. They came with Riccardo Muti as their conductor and played in order Schubert's Rosamunde Ouverture, Mozart's 35th symphony, "Haffner", Schubert's 4th symphony, "Tragic", and Richard Strauss' Tod und Verklaerung. Beautiful program, perfect for a Sunday afternoon but the wonder was all in their playing.

Everything I have ever heard or read about this orchestra proved to be beautifully true yet being face to face with them revealed a lot of other things that are difficult to put into words yet they are so real and true of an experience. The incredible quality of playing of every musician in that orchestra, the remarkable technique of each of them individually but above all of the orchestra as a whole, the precision and the accuracy in execution, the incredible unitary and beautiful sound they are able to produce, the logic and the artistic intelligence they put into their execution, all of them were happening in front of us leaving less room for anything than wonder and pure delight. And everything was produced with the strong flavor of the most genuine viennese style. There was a sense of effortlesness that you can only have in the presence of great masters.

Muti on the other hand was in great shape. Consuming a lot of energy and maintaining an extremely tight connection with his orchestra he made a compelling demonstration of his extremely acute musical sense, exceptional conducting technique, and, what I liked most, the passion he puts in music making and the dedication to the "true" sound of a certain score, to its living soul. Everything was balanced, with the right tone and with the right amount of accent with the single goal of revealing the truth inside. The level of detail which he manages to create in his interpretations and the overall clarity of his conception where made real by the extraordinary instrument he had in front of him. And it was a top-noch quality instrument virtuosic from inside out. They like to play for him (I know it sounds a little weird yet it's not rare that orchestras don't 'listen' to their conductors) and delivered with abandon their master artistry.

I could go on and on about how incredible this concert was but I will just say that as an encore they played for us the ouverture to "La Forza del Destino" by Verdi and that pulled everybody out of their seats. The speed at which they managed to play this beautiful ouverture was amazing, but their sheer virtuosity and their infallible musical sense pulled everythig off with a clarity and enthusiasm that vibed even the walls of the Jones Hall. I just hope that occasions like this will cross our lives more often.