Listening to the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra's 412th Subscription Concert.

Friday, June 11, 2021

Violin & Concertmaster: Volkhard Steude
Piano: Iku Miwa
Concertmaster: Soichi Sakuma
Orchestra: Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra

Mendelssohn: Overture "The Hebrides" (Fingal's Cave), Op. 26
Mendelssohn: Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Orchestra in D minor, MWV O4
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56 "Scottish"
Encore
Kreisler: Viennese Rhapsodic Fantasietta

I went to hear the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra with Steude as concertmaster for the first time in a year and a half.

Unlike specialized soloists, the tone of a concertmaster, who plays a role within the orchestra, is not usually meant to stand out, even if there are solo parts depending on the piece. Therefore, in the past, I didn't know how skilled a concertmaster really was, but when I first heard Steude in person in Akiota Town, I was truly overwhelmed by his immensely rich expressive power. That was when I first realized the ability of someone who becomes a concertmaster and experienced the unfathomable skill of the first violin of the historically and globally famous Vienna Philharmonic. I later heard this again when Daishin Kashimoto, concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic, came to Japan, and I learned that they possess performance skills beyond those of top-tier soloists.

Such concertmaster ability likely also relates to the ability to lead an orchestra. It seems that even a top-tier soloist would find it nearly impossible to lead an orchestra without a conductor. At today's concert, the significance of a conductor was strongly felt.

As an amateur, I don't know how significant it is to have no conductor, but I remember that at the concert a year and a half ago, they performed a Mozart symphony without a conductor, and it was wonderful. When you see someone perform difficult tasks naturally, the better they are at it, the less difficult it seems, and I naturally expected to enjoy good music at today's concert as well.

The all-Mendelssohn program today began with the overture "The Hebrides," and at the start, I felt a silhouette of the orchestra that somehow hinted at the absence of a conductor. However, even though each part was clean, the Mendelssohn tone, which is different from the classics, was played beautifully, and the violin section in particular resonated with a remarkable sound. As it approached the middle, pizzicato was played, and as the emotion built up through a crescendo, the orchestra's sound elevated the piece with a sense of unity and power that only existed because there was no conductor. And I remembered that the previous visit to Japan was similarly very thrilling.

The next concerto was a piece I was hearing for the first time, and within the small ensemble, I heard the genius-like perfection of a composer who was still too young to be called a youth, as well as the strong influence of Mozart and Beethoven. However, unlike a genius who achieves greatness through effort and struggle, Mendelssohn, who showed an unfathomable precocity beyond virtuosity from an early stage, makes it difficult to feel the face of the composer himself, unlike Mozart. And because he was only 14 years old, the piece was grand, and while it was somewhat long-winded, there was no noticeable mediocrity, and he built up a terrifying structure with a level of ability that fits the word "abnormal."

When the orchestra played the background for such a piece with a sense of responsibility, Steude's violin was played without gravity. I don't remember ever seeing such relaxed bowing; the movement, driven by simply unified nerves rather than muscles, felt completely devoid of waste. In his extremely agile and sufficient movements, his vibrato gave a special resonance, and it was not music of tension or expressive intent, but rather the sound of a violin as a living creature that has existed since long ago. When I heard him in chamber music, he produced a thicker, deeper, and more magnificent tone that seemed impossible for the instrument, but today, a light music was born that one could not imagine from his sturdy and magnificent physique. Supporting Steude's violin while responding harmoniously was Miwa's piano; her natural tone, which could be called neither hard nor soft, changed its expression not only in each movement but also from moment to moment. Without asserting itself prominently, yet not hiding in the shadows, it was an equal relationship, and as the program note commentary suggested, she played in a way that made one imagine the figure of the composer's sister. Although it was a concerto, the content felt very much like Mendelssohn's chamber music.

That was most fragrant in the encore.

The symphony in the second half was music that I thought was only possible because there was no conductor. From the first movement, each string part played with a prominent sound, and the tone of the first violin in particular showed a remarkable change with the addition of a battle-hardened concertmaster. Even if there had been rehearsals leading up to the performance, I felt directly the transformation that occurs without explanation when such a person joins. Because there was no conductor, there was an ensemble with breathing similar to chamber music, and the sight of each principal player—viola, cello, and double bass—leading the way and layering sounds while matching their breathing, with each part's will residing in the tension that only exists when there is no conductor, even gave me the illusion of tribal chiefs discussing and maintaining their people, as one reads in old books.

Such a performance, where the autonomy of each musician was utilized, continued with the same enthusiasm in the second movement, and the brass instruments, which are more difficult than string instruments, also played their parts for each scene without fear. However, when it entered the third movement, the difficulty of the resonance as a chord appeared, and although a slight misalignment in the outline of the sound mass occurred, the will and passion of the musicians showed unity. And in the fourth movement, the passion was transmitted so much that I could understand why the person next to me was shaking their head in joy and moving their body as if looking for the brass players in the back. Not only the brass instrument tones that evoke rich musical ideas and images of the land, but also the resonance of the string instruments, which were complex yet beautifully organized and depicted a colorful development, were clearly demonstrated by the addition of Steude. Unlike a conductor, the concertmaster seems to convey his will to the orchestra by making the violin resonate, and watching Steude's large and quick performance, which was prominently dynamic, I felt that it was not verbal explanation, but sensation that worked above all else as communication.

To say that I am grateful just for him coming from Vienna during a difficult time... might be a sweet sentiment for listening to music strictly, but my honest feeling is that I want to enjoy not just good music, but the expressions of the time, including the attempts. I might be a person who is happy to accept and appreciate anything, but it is interesting to see how the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra changes precisely because Mr. Shimono is not there, and it is also interesting to hear what kind of stimulation occurs when a capable concertmaster joins. The change in the tone of the strings was wonderful again this time, and I felt a sense of autonomous sound that is different from being controlled by a conductor.

And above all, his violin skill is wonderful. Unlike the famous Mendelssohn concerto, I can enjoy a performance that makes me see the figure of the brother and sister, rather than a familiar melody. Since I can be satisfied with today's concert just by this, it is a very grateful thing that Steude comes to Hiroshima.