Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik, Iceland; May 19, 2023—While the wind whipped in from the North Atlantic, making its own unforgettable impression on people, sea, and landscape, inside Reykjavik’s stunning, award-winning Harpa concert hall, violinist Isabelle Faust, conductor Eva Ollikainen, and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra were making their own memorable music of a different kind–the kind that warms, excites, and soothes, setting fire and shining light in a way only orchestral instruments and able performers with a musical masterpiece can. There were so many magical moments in Faust’s performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto that before the end of the first movement the audience easily could have felt it had already gotten its money’s worth. (Faust originally was scheduled to play Dvorák, but plans changed; no explanation was provided, but the mostly full house proved no one seemed to mind.)
“Magical” is a term carelessly thrown around by critics, but in this case its strict dictionary meaning–“mysterious…demonstrating extraordinary power or influence…”–certainly applies to Faust’s many expressive gestures, again most affecting in the opening movement, where especially her very finely wrought, exquisitely soft playing literally held the audience breathless. The Harpa’s magnificent acoustics allowed even listeners seated toward the rear of the hall to enjoy every note.
Cadenzas were skillfully spun with theatrical flair, the slow movement’s long lines floated, soulfully uplifted, and drew a deeply moving, richly colored scene of reflection and repose, hope, and solace. From the very start, a spirited finale left no doubt that Ollikainen and her orchestra were having fun, and Faust was all in, all the way to an exhilarating conclusion. Throughout, conductor and soloist displayed a close communication that, combined with the very sensitive orchestral awareness made for one of the more cohesive concerto performances you could ever hope for. After what initially seemed like a merely polite if solid applause, the energy grew and continued; several minutes later Faust returned for an encore.
Oh yes, the concert also featured an even larger, grander work for its second half, Mahler’s popular Symphony No. 5. For this the nearly 100-piece orchestra proved well-suited, both in pure sound and varied color, sheer power and more sensitive utterances. For this music you expect ensemble brilliance and cohesion, sectional virtuosity, and particular expertise from individual soloists. Ollikainen–who leads with a confident, often lyrical style–but also with a commanding force when required–was fully in charge of this massive score, and her fellow musicians were right with her. And the horn solo, which I believe was performed by Stefán Jón Bernharðsson, was superb; the Adagietto was ideally paced, masterful, entrancing, purely gorgeous. The only misstep, noticeable only because it was so exposed, was a slightly ill-tuned timpani at the end of the first movement.
In all, this was nothing less than a triumphant evening for everyone, and although the Mahler undoubtedly was intended as the “big” work–for me the Beethoven was what remained strongly in my memory as I hummed a couple of those tunes, singing out into the still-light night, against that unrelenting north wind.
