Nobu ｘ Ashkenazy 2013 - Grieg or Chopin 2?

Feb. 12, 2013

This September, Vladimir Ashkenazy will tour Japan with Nobuyuki Tsujii and the OEK (Orchestra Ensemble Kanasawa ), performing in 11 concerts - see Nobuyuki x Ashkenazy 2013.

The news of this tour was first  announced on November 25, 2012, on Nobu's own official website, with this breathless proclamation

名匠アシュケナージとの夢の共演が実現！ Dream of co-performing with renowned maestro Ashkenazy comes true!  

The excitement was palpable, a rare display of emotion on that stolid website.

The original announcement mentions two Tokyo performances:

Nobuyuki Tsujii × Ashkenazy conductor

Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa (OEK)

Japan tour

Two performances in Tokyo, 2 programs co-performance repertoire:

A.  Grieg: concerto in A Minor

B.  Chopin: concerto No. 2

Since then, the tour has been expanded to the 11 stops, three of which are to be announced by the end of March.  For Nobu's part, the repertoire remains the Grieg and Chopin 2.

I still remember vividly the concerto performances that I witnessed in  England, May 2012 -- two concerto performances by Nobu conducted by Maestro Ashkenazy, with the Philharmonia.  Looking back, I consider myself extremely fortunate.  Not only were the performances superb, but the choices of the two concertos, Prokofiev's Concerto No. 3 in London and Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in Bristol, were perfect for me.  Those two concertos were diametrically different, the Prokofiev 3 whimsical and atonal; the Chopin 1 romantic and melodic -- each of them received a tremendous response from the British audience that I shall never forget.

So I was surprised that for their upcoming Japan tour, neither of those two concerti appears on the program.  The absence of Chopin 1 -- a signature piece for Nobu -- is understandable, as the two had already performed that work with the OEK in Japan back in 2010, as this image of a concert poster attests.

I was happy, however,  that Nobu has been requested, for a change, to play in his own country something other than Chopin 1, Tchakovsky 1, and Rachmaninov 2.

Let's be clear.  The decision of what to play rests with the conductor, not the soloist.  The  choices of these two works by Ashkenazy is interesting.    The Grieg concerto and Chopin 2 are in the ultra-romantic genre.   As I write this article, Valentine's Day 2013 is approaching, and frankly these two works belong with that romantic day far more than with the autumn days of September, when this tour will take place.

I suspect Askenazy chose the Grieg because he has performed it recently in 2011: in Asia with Evgeny Kissin and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (directed by Ashkenazy); and in Iceleand with Heiðar Ólafsson and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.    On the other hand, I could not come up with anything on the web about Ashkenazy conducting Chopin's piano concerto number 2, of which more will be said later in this article.

Unlike the Prokofiev 3, these two works are not new to Nobu's repertoire, as he performed them in years past.

Japanese Nobu fans informed me that

- Some years ago, Nobu stepped in to substitute for Mr. Yukio Yokoyama (his university professor whom we saw in the Cliburn Competition video) to perform the Chopin Concerto No. 2 at a Valentine's Day concert.  Nobu "gave a superb performance even though he had not practiced that concerto for about a year."  Brief footage of that  performance can be seen on Japan TV specials about Nobu and on some YouTube videos.

- Nobu  performed the Grieg concerto when he was only 14 years old, with conductor Ichiro Saito (photo above shown via Internet link) and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra; the performance was broadcast on Nippon TV (NTV) in 2003  http://www.ntv.co.jp/shinon/0307/20030723.html

The Grieg Concerto

No concerto is easy, but the Grieg concerto -- Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 written in 1868 by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg -- is considered one of the least demanding.  Along with the ultra virtuosic Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, it is one of the most performed piano concerti.  In three movements, the Greig concerto is especially famous for its opening theme and piano cadenza.  This YouTube video  of a 2011 performance in Suntory Hall of Evgeny Kissin and the Sydney Symphony (conducted by Ashkenazy) shows how the concerto begins:

And here is a YouTube video of the entire Grieg Concerto, performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy as pianist, in  a live performance at the 1970 Bergen Festival:

Nobu's playing is well-suited to the Grieg Concerto.  I have no doubt that he, Ashkenazy and the OEK will thrill the audiences in Japan with its performance.

Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2

In spite of the title, Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 was actually written by the Polish composer before his more famous Piano Concerto No. 1.   Both concerti were written in the 1830's, and each adhere to the conventional three-movements format.  In both, the hardest to play is the last movement, and the easiest is the middle movement.  The performance of these concerti is considered difficult for a pianist, both technically and interpretively.

To my ears, the concerto No. 2, with no distinguished theme, is less coherent than the No. 1.  Put it bluntly, this concerto is simply not as appealing to listen to.  Despite a few fleeting lovely passages scattered here and there, the themes are not as well defined and not as beautiful as in the Concerto No. 1.  It is also not performed or recorded as often.  Ashkenazy recorded it as a pianist, and Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman supposedly showed how it should be done in his 1999  Chopin Concertos album. 

When I first wrote this article, I concluded that if I had to choose between the two, the Grieg would be my preference. 

However, I did a little more research and found a great write-up San Francisco Symphony program notes for Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2, and I looked up Piano Concerto No. 2 (Chopin) - Wikipedia and the sound track there, of a performance by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra (without naming the piano) , is actually very lovely.  Now, I would love to hear the concerto, especially the second movement, in the hands of Nobu.

Here is a  YouTube video  of the concerto performed by Arthur Rubinstein:

As I write this article, tickets for the two Nobuyuki ｘ Ashkenazy 2013 Tokyo performances are already available in "pre-release".  At a premium price, tickets can be had before they are released to the general public on March 9.  I seriously considered asking for the favor of a Japanese Nobu fan to get tickets for me for these performances.   But I have been spoiled by the luxury of attending Nobu's performances outside Japan, for which I can get seats of my choice at a reasonable price.   I hold out hope that, someday, I will get to see Nobu perform these concertos, somewhere in the world.

As an end note, I want to say that I wish Ashkenazy and Nobu would repeat in Japan their electrifying performance in the U.K. last May of the Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3.  My suspicion is that the Prokofiev 3, because it is not romantic, may be less popular in Japan.  But what an exciting performance it was that I saw in London.

Related page: Nobuyuki ｘ Ashkenazy 2013,  Nobuyuki Tsujii plays Prokofiev's Concerto No. 3

More about Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2:

• San Francisco Symphony program notes for Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2

  • Piano Concerto No. 2 (Chopin) - Wikipedia  - the sound tracks, from a performance of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, are very good

More about Grieg's  Concerto

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4512250 <Audio>

"Grieg's Piano Concerto, a Classical Workhorse by Tom Manoff, National Public Radio (NPR).  "Some may call it a war horse, I prefer to call it a thoroughbred." A review of a performance by pianist  Leif Ove Andsnes with the Berlin Philharmonic.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090428200440AASOJF1

An Analysis of the First Movement of the Grieg  Concerto   -  Yahoo Q&A - text copied below

The concerto is in 4/4 time, in sort of a moderato-allegro tempo. Key is in A minor.

Introduction

The introduction starts off in A minor and ends in the V of A minor. Begins with a timpani roll starting in "ppp" and crescendoing to a orchestral tutti in "fff" in A minor as the piano comes in with a little 6-measure cadenza as the orchestra drops out. Then the piano drops out after that cadenza...And then...the orchestra starts the exposition.

Exposition

First theme is in A minor. The orchestra starts off the main theme first in 20 measures. Then the piano responds with almost exactly what the orchestra did. So it is a sort of double-exposition without being a complete double exposition like you see in most Mozart piano concertos.

There is a transitional theme on the "Piu mosso" in dotted 32nds and triplet 16ths in the piano part.

Second theme then comes in, as a gentle nocturne at the start; the key center is in C major.

The theme builds up to a Rachmaninov-style climax in "fff", ending the exposition.

Development

The orchestra comes in on the C major chord, tutti, changing chords with a lot of tension. Fortissimo trumpet calls are the climax of that passage, and then, the orchestra quiets down as the key center changes to E minor. This is the first part of the development (I call it an introduction or even pre-development).

Key centers start first in E minor, and then F minor, and then to F-sharp minor. (At this point, the piano part plays arpeggios as the higher voices in the orchestra play a fragment of the first theme in the exposition.) Chordal changes in modulation begin as the piano fragment starts off with the notes "A B E", heard as a modified fragment of the theme used in the exposition. A tutti climax with 2 brief octave runs by the soloist and timpani playing triplet figures on "E", slowly dying away after the "ff", ends the section.

C. Recapituation

Same as before but not completely the same. First theme is almost as it is. The transitional theme has the faster 32nds and triplet 16ths but now, the key center makes a transition to A major after the A minor key center. The second theme is now in A major, starts gently, and then builds up to a climax to a Rachmaninov-style ending. The recapituation ends with a orchestral statement of the thematic fragment of the exposition (1st theme).

This leads to a long cadenza for the piano soloist. Starts off on VII/III, slowly, and then a faster run on vii7 of A minor. This leads to a slower section with changing chords, resolving first to an N6 (neopolitan 6th) in A minor, and then a German 6th in A minor. Then, with tremolo 32nds in the background and arpeggios, the first theme is reinstated with a slow yet grand crescendo....leading to a big octave run on the V of A minor. The climax is the "fff" on the A minor key center on another restatement of the first theme.

A trill statement on V7 ends the cadenza, and the orchestra comes in with a pedal point on E as the 2nd part of the 1st theme is reinstated.

The first part of the coda introduces new material by the orchestra in A minor key center but pretty briefly, in the "faster tempo".

The last part is the coda-introduction, ending the 1st movement in the key center in A minor on "ff", which restates the chordal octave fragment by the piano soloist that was already heard in the opening of the concerto...supported by an orchestra tutti also in "ff".

http://bit.ly/Xzdiim