KVT – A Swedish Flourish

KVT and a rather special concert at Nha Hat Lon

Nice to see the Swedes saying loud and clear that they are in Vietnam for a long time to come…The Swedish commitment to the arts in Vietnam has been immense and as they were amongst the first off the mark to begin diplomatic relations with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, way back in the 1960ies, they certainly have my vote.

In this instance they gave us the considerable expertise and talent of conductor extraordinaire, Mats Liljefors who is at present the principal conductor of the prestigious Royal Swedish Chamber Orchestra. They teamed maestro Liljefors with the Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra and they certainly came up with the goods.

The program at the Hanoi Opera house last Thursday was unusual in that it mainly eschewed compositions that are very well known and hum able for Cesar Franck’s Symphony in D minor and Camille Saint Sean’s third Violin Concerto.

They started off with Ravel’s very hum able ‘Pavanne Pour une Princess Defunte’ which Ravel wrote at 24 and after an unpopular start with audiences it gained momentum and earned the composer a tidy sum in royalties. The orchestra played it with that slow gravity that Ravel wanted- even though the piece has nothing to do with dead princesses really…it’s suggested that Ravel liked the alliteration and also he was beginning his love affair with things Spanish that sort of climaxed with ‘Bolero’. Nice to see that the valveless horn was used in the intro. Here‘s a lovely link to another nice performance

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqAlMItkV44[/youtube]

I went along specifically to hear violinist Nguyen My Huong solo in Saint- Sean’s 3^rd violin concerto. I’ve been a fan of hers since I’ve been following the chamber music group, Trio Trinity.

And did she do the piece justice? Absolutely! I got really choked up towards the end of the second movement with it’s ethereal moments.

The orchestra was right with Huong all the way under tight control of the conductor and it was one of those fine  performances that the Philharmonic is noted for when a really good conductor takes to the podium.

Huong was wearing a dress that could have won the day over the music but she made sure that her playing usurped the large, incredible flamingoes that were appliquéd around it and that looked as if they were waiting  to fly off and call their bravos after this 30 minute listening treat.

I was really pleased that a major work by Franck was unleashed onHanoi…though the audience seemed a bit non plussed about it.

Cesar Frank was a Belgian, is claimed by France, but his symphony was a failure when premiered in Paris because it was considered to be too Germanic in tone (mainly because the Franco/Prussian War was in everyone’s minds and anything from over the border was definitely unpatriotic)

It’s a cyclical form of composition and if not interpreted sympathetically it is, apparently, a bit boring and repetitive. The orchestra on Thursday got it  mostly just right and the more well known and upbeat third movement was quite luscious with its momentum not diminishing and with the earlier tunes and themes being swellingly relived.

Even though Franck had followed the old French trend for 3 rather than 4 movements in his symphony, the French were still not won over. Too Wagnerian in style, they oomphed.

I loved the whole 38 minutes and next day was lucky enough to come across a clear but old CD of it in one of those rare, excellent and hidden music shops overseen by knowledgeable Ongs who tell you that your taste in music is excellent

Heres’s another nice interpretation for people like me who are going through a Franck stage in their lives [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F4tSu-6quI[/youtube]

Note that I haven’t supplied a link to the Saint-Sean’s concerto. Not that I couldn’t find one. It’s because I still want to keep fresh in my mind the interpretation given by Nguyen My Huong in that very special gown.