the essential
2,200 music lovers tasted this Thursday, November 7, the splendors of Concertos numbers 1 and 2 by Sergei Rachmaninov offered by the Russian virtuoso Mikhail Pletnev and the Orchester national du Capitole (ONC) of Toulouse. A pure treat.
Fortified by the permanent energization of the Orchester national du Capitole de Toulouse, Mikhail Pletnev played, this Thursday, November 7, the historic concert delivered by his master Sergei Rachmaninoff, one evening in March 1917 in Moscow. The latter then offered to the public the 3 piano concertos that he had composed (the last, No. 4, was released in 1926).
By offering two evenings with two concertos, 1 and 2 on Thursday, then 3 and 4 the next day, Mikhail Pletnev literally pushed the limits of musical understanding. Gifted on the keyboard like his mentor, the Russian pianist enchanted the audience (connoisseurs) of the Halle aux Grains for an hour and a half, in a first evening where concertos nos. 1 and 2 were in the spotlight.
We know “Rach 1”, made classic in the French popular imagination by the theme taken up in a famous literary television program from the 70s and 80s. We know even better “Rach 2”, adapted into a song by Eric Carmen in 1973 and which alone sums up what Rachmaninoff’s life was like, going from the most hair-raising exaltation to the most melancholy depression. Two emotional states which inspired perhaps the most beautiful piece in the entire classical symphonic repertoire.
Accuracy and delicacy of the musicians of the Capitol
Platnev, a seasoned virtuoso, understood everything, never overwhelming this overwhelming work of technical and noisy overkill, even if he ended up imposing himself in a 3rd movement that was still as incandescent. As in the 2nd movement of Concerto No. 1, Pletnev, well served by the accuracy and delicacy of the musicians of the Capitol, embellishes the 2nd movement of “Rach 2” with all the nostalgia it contains. Two great moments of pure emotion.
With a pianist and an orchestra at the top – perfect direction from Dima Slobodeniouk – the concert takes on a rare dimension, especially as Pletnev, as if the performance were not enough, launches into two encores, including “The Alouette” by Glinka, Russian musical mascot who still exudes nostalgia and concludes this sonic splendor invading us and never leaving us.
