This evening’s sublime concert at Bozar was notable for several reasons. On the programme were two pieces of Stravinsky (concerto for strings in D and octet for wind instruments), interspersed with two Beethoven piano concertos (the first and the third). The young (in age and spirit) Mahler Chamber Orchestra stood up for the Stravinsky concerto. There was no conductor and the first violinist, Steven Copes, gave the beat. Freed from their seats, the musicians seemed somehow to be also liberated in their expression, swaying and at times almost dancing to the music. It was a good start to an excellent evening. The pianist, Norwegian maestro Leif Ove Andsnes, not only gave the concertos the required virtuoso treatment but in between acted as the conductor, giving the beat from his piano stool. It was an exceptional arrangement that worked really well, providing a visual organic link between the soloist and the orchestra. Andsnes has built a reputation for his romantic interpretations of Beethoven’s piano concertos and that romanticism was brilliantly to the fore this evening.
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