LSO and Beatrice Rana under Gianandrea Noseda: Beethoven and Shostakovich

La Philharmonie, Paris, Monday, February 7 2022

Conductor: Gianandrea Noseda. Pianist: Beatrice Rana. London Symphony Orchestra.

• Beethoven: Piano Concerto N° 5 (Emperor)
• Shostakovich: Symphony N°15.

I don't often go to La Philharmonie because, to be frank, I don't like it. In particular, I don't buy into the hall's PR claims, echoed faithfully by the press, it has outstanding acoustics. After my first evening there, I did some in-depth Googling and found a long but interesting article about acoustic variability, prompted by a visit to the brand-new house by Willem Boning, an acoustical and architectural designer working at Arup in New York, which includes the remark: 'So, when people ask me how the Philharmonie sounded, I don’t know what to say. From the two sections I sat in, it sounded terrible and it sounded amazing.'

However, as, apparently, it all depends on where you sit (and even, according to Mr Boning, whether you sit back or lean forward in your seat), for the sake of some works I'm willing to give the place another try, in hopes of hitting a sweet spot. This year, the chance of finding out if Lise Davidsen is as amazing live as some people insist drew me to the new season's schedule, and as some good visiting orchestras were offering things I like, I ended up taking out a minimal subscription*, including Davidsen singing Strauss's Four Last Songs.

Actually, it doesn't all just depend on where you sit; it also depends, apparently, on what works you're listening to and what instruments are playing at a given moment - depends enough, at any rate, for you sometimes not to know whether what you're hearing is deliberate, on the performers' part, or the fault of the quirky acoustics. The confused, 'jangling' sound of the piano in the grand opening flourishes was obviously the hall's doing. But when, in the first movement, the staccato, tutti chords sounded surprisingly violent, or later, when the timpani sounded too loud in conversation with the piano, or the woodblock maybe an 'f' too strong, was that the players or the building?

Leaving all that aside, this was a lovely performance of the concerto, even if, as I've said many times before, I no longer care much to hear Beethoven on modern instruments. Beatrice Rana plays with a wonderfully delicate touch; her glistening trills and glissandi had me thinking of Michelangeli in the Ravel, shimmering at the top of the keyboard - though Steinway sound at that altitude is unpleasantly cold to my ear. The second movement was especially gorgeous (it always reminds me of the film Picnic at Hanging Rock, back in the days, long ago, before I gave up the cinema). Not, though, to suggest she lacks force.

Her encore was a surprise and had people wondering what it could be: a Godowski arrangement of Saint-Saëns Le Cygne (so I discovered this morning), played lovingly and lyrically.

What I really bought this concert for was the symphony (I couldn't have bought it for the overture: as usual these days, there wasn't one. This seems to me to make for stingy programmes. I'm sure Noseda would have given us a fantastic Forza del Destino). I was 15 myself when I bought the first recording of the fifteenth. It was probably the most expensive LP I'd ever bought till then, as I usually otherwise borrowed records from the Municipal Library (once they'd approved of my cartridge under their microscope) or bought whatever was cheapest at Boots or Woolworths. It was certainly the first time I ever bought a new work from a living composer.

Also, having enjoyed Noseda's zingy Macbeth so much, I was looking forward to an equally zingy symphony and, in the event, was surprised at how moderate his tempi were: a faster scherzo, at least, might have made for sharper contrast between movements. But extra bounce made up for lack of speed, and overall this was a beautifully crafted and balanced performance, with not a hint of vulgarity. The second movement was especially impressive: the low brass, and the breathtaking reprise of their lugubrious, shifting chorale theme by the pianissimo strings later; and the marvellous trombone and string solos. The polished togetherness and accuracy of the LSO's playing was impressive - the woodblock, the 'whip'... spot on. Only the horn section had an off evening, though not very off. I noted most of them looked, from where I was, young; I wondered if they might be standing in for more experienced players hit by Covid.

The transparency of Noseda's Shostakovich suited the Philharmonie's acoustics better than the Beethoven and especially the Brahmsian textures of the encore, one of Dvorak's Slavonic Dances (Op. 46 N° 3), which turned muddy in the sports-hall reverberations. Which is why I included 'what works you listen to' in my list of what your acoustic experience depends on in this perplexing space.

*As of today, even more minimal, as Die Soldaten has just been cancelled.