Season begins with a stumble at the Phillips Collection
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Version 0 of 1. The Phillips Collection’s 75th-anniversary concert season opened Sunday with a stumble. The stage was certainly set for this prestigious venue’s next era — a complete refurbishment of its Steinway, new chairs and new hangings on the Music Room’s walls. But the afternoon seem to leave many patrons tired and irritated. Swiss pianist Olivier Cavé offered a strange program, principally sonatas of Haydn and Scarlatti — composers of genius, but too narrow a range to sustain an entire concert. By the eighth selection, many in the audience were nodding off, which could have been partly because by then we had been sitting for more than 90 minutes. (Instead of an intermission, there was a halting, rambling lecture by a musicologist on anything and everything that could theoretically serve as an historical connection between the two composers, as if it mattered.) It was a pleasure, though, to hear the “new” instrument. Tonally, I didn’t notice much difference, but the action was manifestly cleaner — ornaments and trills popped out with greater clarity, even at the softest dynamic levels. This played particularly to Cavé’s strengths, as his nimble, precise fingers traced delicate filigree, impressively so in the most rapid passages. But along with his head-scratching programming, Cavé came with none of the music memorized, so a page turner was employed, telegraphing all the repeats. About an hour into the concert, Cavé had to stop to ask for more lighting (didn’t he rehearse there at all?), and the staff had to scramble to bring some out. The concert ended, incongruously, with a set by Isaac Albéniz. Here, Cavé sounded too Swiss, eschewing the lust and languor of this original Spanish voice. Things usually go better than this at the Phillips. Battey is a freelance writer. |