5 DAYS AGO Surprises both good the Dallas Symphony ......triptych: the Valses nobles et...

2019-03-27, 1*38 PMSurprises both good and not so good from the Dallas Symphony, con…nguier and pianist Hélène Grimaud | Classical Music | Dallas News

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Surprises both goodSurprises both goodand not so good fromand not so good fromthe Dallas Symphony,the Dallas Symphony,conductor Lionelconductor LionelBringuier and pianistBringuier and pianistHélène GrimaudHélène Grimaud

Scott Cantrell, Special Contributor

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Thursday night's Dallas Symphony Orchestra concert

was full of surprises, some good, some not so good.

Led by guest conductor Lionel Bringuier, the program

began with the Beethoven Fourth Piano Concerto, with

pianist Hélène Grimaud. After intermission came a Ravel

triptych: the Valses nobles et sentimentales, La valse and

Boléro.

In the Beethoven, Grimaud and Bringuier favored a first

movement on the relaxed side of the Allegro moderato

marking; the cadenza certainly was "exploratory," the

pace all over the place. The central Andante con moto

favored the "at ease" aspect of the tempo marking over

the qualifying "with motion."

Pianist Hélène Grimaud performs with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, conducted byLionel Bringuier. (Ben Torres/Special Contributor)

I personally hear both those movements with, well, more

movement. But Grimaud played with such a beautiful,

glowing tone — what the French call le jeu perlé — and

with such eloquent molding of phrases that I accepted

an alternative conception. Hefty fortissimos had never a

hint of harshness.

With clear and commendably restrained gestures,

Bringuier got similarly supple and nicely nuanced

playing from the orchestra. Lower strings were

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appropriately reduced in numbers, but violins barely so,

yielding a bit of a top-heavy orchestral impression.

Grimaud sometimes rushed a bit when the notes got

smaller, though, and, from both pianist and orchestra,

the finale felt too hurried. The Meyerson Symphony

Center audience exploded in a roaring ovation.

An all-Ravel second half with a French conductor —

what could go wrong? Boléro is one of those pieces any

veteran critic never needs to hear again; even Ravel said

it was all orchestration, no music. But audiences love it,

and winds get to show off in conspicuous solos. The two

waltz-based pieces, on the other hand, are masterpieces

of orchestral color and atmosphere and rhythmic

buoyancy — or at least should be.

I love both those pieces. But was I the only person in the

audience who sensed absolutely no magic in either

performance? Early sections of Valses nobles et

sentimentales were just that bit too slow to spring off the

ballroom floor. Having led with such unfussy clarity in

the Beethoven, Bringuier here went for bigger, more

"impressionist" gestures, which took a toll on orchestral

precision.

La valse, by contrast, felt just that bit too pressed to

enjoy itself. Boléro was, well, Boléro. In the latter,

percussionists Daniel Florio and Ronald Snider

flawlessly gauged their crescendo from the threshold of

audibility to a driving force.

There was some suspect intonation among the wind

cameos, but flutist David Buck slipped an aptly musky

low-register tone into the proceedings, and trombonist

Barry Hearn managed to make his solo both suave and

naughty.

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C L A S S I C A L M U S I C P E R F O R M I N G A R T S A R T S

Repeats at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m.

Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St.

$29 to $136. 214-849-4376, mydso.com.

Formerly classical music critic of The Dallas Morning

News, Scott Cantrell continues covering the beat as a

freelance writer. Classical music coverage at The News is

supported in part by a grant from the Rubin Institute for

Music Criticism, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music

and the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. The News

makes all editorial decisions.

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