rach ii

The attendance at Friday's performance was better than that the week before. This I attribute to the Second Concerto's overwhelming popularity over the First, and the more pedestrian program. Okko Kamu also conducted Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and Brahm's 4th Symphony. I found Demidenko's touch a tad too light at times. The more pensive passages in the first and final movements tended to sound similar. At times, I was wondering if the orchestra was accompanying the piano or vice versa. Perhaps the piano's sound didn't come across that well because of where I sat. The two encore pieces fared better. The first was a brooding nocturne-like piece that I've heard on the local classical music station late at night too often. It's one of those that I'm perpetually unable to identify because I always hear it played on the radio unintroduced. It sounds Chopinesque but without all of the composer's flourishes. The girl seated behind me was sure it was Beethoven. Maybe she's right. The second encore was a playful torrent of staccatos, punctuated by Baroque ornamentations, played at presto.

I prefer Collard's performance of the First Concerto last week, despite his rather audible grunts, which were thankfully masked by the piano.