Melbourne Symphony Master Series closes with spectacular Beethoven Third

CLOSING this year’s Master Series in spectacular fashion, this Melbourne Symphony program tapped two great traditions.

German violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann gave a precise performance of Sibelius’s Violin Concerto.

ROUNDING out this year’s Master Series in spectacular fashion, this MSO program tapped the spirit of two great musical traditions: the waves of Germanic innovation that shaped orch­estral writing in the classical and romantic periods, and the untamed Finnish school of com­position that opened mythical aural pathways as other European compositional traditions floundered into post-tonal existential crises.

Blending these traditions were meticulous German violin virtuoso Frank Peter Zimmermann, in a performance of Sibelius’s moody Violin Concerto under the baton of ingenious Finnish conductor and Sibelius expert Osmo Vanska. Also on Vanska’s schedule, Beethoven’s genre transforming Third Symphony, Eroica, and Minea, a vigorous contemporary opener by Vanska’s compatriot Kalevi Aho that blends boisterous, percussive orientalism with the Finnish epic’s enigmatic, crepuscular syntax.

In terms of revealing a player’s musical core, few passages in the violin repertoire rival the Sibelius opening solo. Eschewing conventional approaches, in which sustained bow weight and vibrato create a bloom of lush intensity, Zimmermann’s entry was marked by delicacy of tone, with clarity of line and poignancy of expression, dynamic shaping and idiosyncratic phrasing creating oppositional states: muted melancholy versus introspective agitation.

This set the scene for a bright, cerebral interpretation, Zimmermann’s precise approach and delicate 1711 Stradivarius slightly at odds with the primal fervour and dusky washes of Vanska’s luxuriant orch­estral reading. An encore rendition of Bach’s Third Partita Prelude better revealed Zimmer­mann’s genius, where the familiar line was shaped with exquisite musicality and glittering lucidity.

The evening’s revelations, however, came at the hands of Vanska, a responsive MSO elevated to uncommon levels of expressive sophistication. Vanska is a Sibelius Academy graduate who typifies that tradition, his vast gestural palette all about painting dramatic contrasts. There is economy in his expression and histrionics are absent, notwithstanding selective use of sweeping, crouching and cage-rattling movements. Where appropriate, Vanksa simply stands still, silently demanding steadiness and restraint.

Most benefiting from this approach was a brightly hued account of the Eroica, in which layers of lazy performance practice were stripped away to reveal a vibrant kaleidoscope of thematic detail, textural contrast and mood. Initially, this supersaturated extraction of every musical idea presented sensory overload. As the ear adjusted, however, minutiae fell into place, revealing forgotten intricacies and bringing into sharp relief the work’s truly rebellious contours and heroic ideals.

Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony. Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Hamer Hall, Melbourne, December 1.