Performers: Yuri Bashmet (viola)/ Yefim Bronfman (piano)/ Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre/Valery Gergiev
Venue: Mariinsky 3 Concert Hall, St. Petersburg
Studio: BelAir Classiques BAC 031 (Distr. by Naxos)
Video: Enhanced for 16:9 widescreen color
Audio: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1
Regional Coding: all regions
Subtitles: French, English, German, Spanish
Booklet: 24 Pages, English, French
Length: 158 minutes
Rating: *****
I would like to begin this review by stating an everyday fact of my life that is, when I begin the review process I ask a question, or a series of questions and then proceed to answer them; sooner or later these answers become the review. To the point, when I turned on my AV system and inserted the DVD on the player I had no question to ask to begin with, but once the concert began I knew instantly what my question was going to be, as follows: what hall acoustics, surround sound and a toothpick have to do with Gergiev? The answer is contained in the notes that follow.
This DVD captured a pure symphonic concert performed on January 1, 2007 on Saint Petersburg’s new concert hall the Mariinsky 3, less than 24 hours after the 2006 New Year’s Eve concert had been performed at the old Mariinsky Theatre – the same orchestra and conductor: Valery Gergiev (b. 1953). In a true documentary style an orchestra conductor is portrayed at the prime of his artistry with his orchestra coming along for the trip to honor the great city and people who have given them a home since 1860.
A few words about this new concert hall, I am not sure of course but as far as I know, this is the first DVD produced in this new hall. This hall was designed by the French architect Xavier Fabre whose design is a mixture of the old and also new forms – the façade duplicates that of an old Mariinsky complex’s building which had gone down in flames in 2003, and the new state-of-the-art interior with acoustics designed and implemented by Yasuhisa Toyota of Nagata Acoustics, Japan – perhaps the best non-amplified concert hall acousticians in the world. They had been also the acousticians in charge of the acclaimed Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles as well as many other concert halls in other parts of the world. The Mariinsky 3 was completed in April of 2006 and formally inaugurated on November 29, 2006; hall capacity is about 1100 seats.
From the go we realize this is going to be a Gergiev master class on precision conducting Russian style which reminds me a lot of the late Evgeny Mavrinsky – his old teacher. The interesting thing to note – actually rather unbelievable – is that Gergiev conducts his orchestra with a toothpick on the right hand as a baton! Upon showing this DVD to two retired friends from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, one a trombone and the other a viola player (who played under Gergiev), their eyes went ballistic; their comment was “…you better pay attention.” This is Gergiev (and we are not!) and his orchestra.
My first notes on the first piece Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture by Glinka were textually as follows: toothpick appears – painting the music to a fast gallop – music moves rather than the usual symphonic static – beats time effectively as well as painting – overture is not the ponderous Germanized usual – a fast romp – dynamics are carried by double basses/cellos and the timpani – right hand with toothpick beats time and paints colors – left hand conducts the solo parts and the accents – Gergiev intimately knows the music – even better than the musician themselves…what else could I say here?
Then on to the second work by Berlioz: Harold en Italie (complete) with Yuri Bashmet in viola. And here is where the new hall’s acoustics come to fore and we can actually hear the viola, even as in the lowest E-flat pianissimo beginning at 10:10 (Track 5) gradually building to a crescendo by the whole orchestra, which never obscures the viola or any other solo instrument no matter how piano or forte they were. I would like to mention here that it’s rather difficult to hear these sounds in detail in the concert hall (any concert hall) and that is one of the reasons why this wonderful work is seldom performed, as well in any recording without microphone manipulation. Another example of this great hall acoustics and the recording engineer’s prowess can be heard in Track 6 (from La forza del destino Overture – Verdi) at 1:23 where from a sudden E-flat pianissimo (after the initial fanfare) the first violins dramatically move into a slow and progressive crescendo to a tutti by the massed orchestra at 2:26. Another in Track 6, at 3:20 the B-flat clarinet and harp duet heard to the last nuance proceeding as in Verdi’s opera with the rhythm of a Roman canzona’s cadence; it will be hard to miss the drama of this sequence – very operatic and not at all symphonic, which is the usual fare.
Many other fine moments in conducting and orchestral ensemble playing can also be found in Track 7 (Wagner – Lohengrin) and 8 (Strauss – Polka). The instrumental detail Gergiev obtains with his little toothpick is absolutely amazing; he conducts with his hands and with his facial expressions and gestures as well – example: Track 10 Capriccio espagnol (Rimsky-Korsakov) – feeling the music and the sounds much like the late Arturo Toscanini. He knows what sounds he wants from the orchestra and his emotions carry the day, as in Track 10 at 6:25 with the so-called baton’s “chicken-whip” and the exact response from the orchestra. Please listen to Track 8 (the Strauss Polka) which in a few measures defines how capable and precise this orchestra is under this conductor – their permanent conductor.
It’s almost like saying: (again) I am Gergiev – this is my orchestra – my (hall) acoustics – my toothpick…and you are not! This is the answer to my question and what defines this review: a great performance by a superlative conductor, a virtuosic orchestra, in a hall with marvelous acoustics – and don’t forget the toothpick!
The cinematography in this DVD is never boring and always attentive with opportune shots of relevant instrument(s) and/or conductor at the right moment; this DVD is a feast for orchestral music lovers and in my mind the best photographed concert I have ever seen on film and/or DVD, period. When I listen with the optional DTS 5.1 the sound is absolutely fantastic – it’s just about the most realistic surround sound I have ever heard on any recording, as if I was seating in center row 12, probably the best seat in the house for symphonic concerts of this nature. I should say that my reference system consists of nine speakers including a subwoofer – of those the four main speakers are full sized 3-way speakers.
In the final analysis this is a superlative DVD and a historic document of a conductor at the peak of his artistic creativity with his own orchestra, indeed showing the great symbiosis that in rare cases can be achieved between an orchestra and conductor – a great concert, and I wish I had been there that night, a night to remember. Finally, all I can say is that Gergiev is not a conductor overwrought by ambivalence. Now you know the answer to the initial question.
Works included in this DVD:
Mikhail Glinka: Ruslan and Ludmilla (1840) Overture.
Hector Berlioz: Harold en Italie (1847) (complete) with Yuri Bashmet, viola.
Giuseppe Verdi: La forza del destino (1862) Overture.
Richard Wagner: Lohengrin (1850) – Prelude to Act III.
Johann Strauss Jr.: Polka op. 81 (1864).
Franz Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2 (1865) (complete) with Yefim Bronfam, piano.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio espagnol (1887).
Alexander Borodin: Prince Igor (1890) – Polovtsian Dances
Sergei Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 (1907) – 2nd movement.
Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird (1910) (complete).
— John Nemaric
