Louis Langrée at the Rudolfinum with the Prague Philharmonic

For one evening at the Rudolfinum, Louis Langrée conducts the Prague Philharmonia in an entirely Germanic program, for which his maturity never alters the ardor of each moment.

Some conductors soften or calm down with age, but at 63, the current director of the Opéra Comique remains an eternal young man from the moment he finds an orchestra again. Today in front of the Prague Philharmonia (this is the orchestra, currently under the musical direction of Frenchman Emmanuel Villaume, which uses this English terminology, even for its Prague season), Louis Langrée barely sets foot on the podium, only already he launches with fervor theOpening of Tito’s Clemencya work created in this city at the Théâtre des Estates.

A proven Mozartian (he directed the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York for twenty-one years), the French conductor knows this music well and once again brings all his maturity to it. Because precisely, and unlike many young directors, he dares to play this music with contrast, speed, and even sometimes an almost pompous style, which here already allows us to glimpse the quality of the horns, even more powerful in the symphony in the second part.

Much more calm, Metamorphoses by Richard Strauss also begins at a fairly fast tempo (barely 25 minutes in total) et with a refusal to indulge in pathos, even if the work retains a truly melancholic character in this approach. Of the twenty-three strings, many are often identifiable individually, even when it is the second cello or the third viola, carried by the very adapted acoustics of the Prague hall for this type of ensemble. By five in the four string groups of the quartet, plus three double basses to arrive at the twenty-three instruments requested by Strauss, the “Prague Phil” almost always adapts to the dynamics instilled by Langrée, except perhaps at two moments, where we feel that the first cello then the solo double bass want to vent a little longer than the conductor allows them. Then their vibrato develops a little more, especially remarkable in the first violin Romana Špačková, because it is always held, without ever adding sentimentality in this score to be approached with the greatest finesse.

The Symphony No. 3 by Beethoven allows us to once again release the exaltation of the French leader, who can relaunch all his forces in battle from the first attack, in a literally interpretation Heroic. Made of fire and flames, theAllegro con brio lets exult even more powerful horns Scherzoalthough they still seem almost reserved compared to what they seem capable of. The oboe brings its luster to the Funeral March with its magnificent solo, well escorted by the bassoons, while if the strings suffer just a little in the Finalealways with great speed, the timpanist never lacks impact. Classic in its proposal, this interpretation of Louis Langrée always carries a breath and a maturity rather rare today in this work, to make one regret not hearing the conductor-director more often in concert in recent years.

Photographic credits: © Ivan Maly

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