Long Island Concert Orchestra (LICO) All-Rachmaninoff concert in Review
Long Island Concert Orchestra (LICO)
Enrico Fagone, conductor
Alessandro Mazzamuto, piano
DiMenna Center for Classical Music, New York, NY
August 27, 2024
The Long Island Concert Orchestra (LICO), led by conductor Enrico Fagone, presented an All-Rachmaninoff program at the Dimenna Center for Classical Music this past Tuesday evening, with featured works being the Piano Concertos No. 2 and 3, and the 1887 Scherzo in D minor thrown in as an orchestral opener. Alessandro Mazzamuto was the piano soloist for both concerti.
Last year was the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninoff’s birth, and there was a plethora of concerts dedicated to his music. Possibly the most notable (or notorious depending on your viewpoint) was Yuja Wang playing the four concerti and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Philadelphia Orchestra (Rachmaninoff’s favorite) in a single evening. This feat may be what has inspired numerous others to offer multiple Rachmaninoff concerti in a single evening (as Rachmaninoff himself did in 1939 in the famous “Rachmaninoff Cycle” concerts with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra), but this listener is of the opinion that does not always serve these works to maximum advantage.
LICO Composer-in-residence David Winkler offered his customary greeting to the audience at the beginning of the evening. Though he usually talks a bit about the works, a form of spoken program notes (with none printed), on this occasion he chose not to do so. I assume that he felt that the works are so well known that there is no real need to say anything. While one might say that regarding the concerti (though I would disagree), the Scherzo in D minor is virtually unknown, so it would have prepared listeners to have some background. First of all, it is Rachmaninoff’s earliest surviving composition for orchestra, composed when he was only fourteen (dedicated to his cousin Alexander Siloti and intended to be part of a larger work because it is headed “Third movement”), and it was first performed and published only after Rachmaninoff’s death. The model for the work is clearly the Scherzo from Felix Mendelssohn’s incidental music for Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and it is so overtly “Mendelssohn” that one would never guess “Rachmaninoff” if asked to name the composer. Though this short work (about five minutes) may be valued more historically than musically, Maestro Fagone and LICO played it with gusto.
Alessandro Mazzamutto took the stage for the Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18. The first thing that I noticed was music was being used with an iPad. While this seems to be a trend in recent times, one could not help thinking that this seemed a sign of incomplete preparation with such standard repertoire. Commitment to memory in such mainstream works is part of the internalizing process, which audiences can feel. Was the music there because of the difficulty of having to commit to memory two concerti to play in a single evening? Was it there from habit in preparation for recording sessions, which we learn are imminent? Only Mr. Mazzamutto would know the answer. He also continually picked up his handkerchief/cloth and would wipe the keyboard and dab at the keys, often doing so until moments before he was to play. I’m not sure if this was a nervous habit, but it was excessive to the point of distraction.
This listener has some strong opinions about this work, but nonetheless has enjoyed many performances that differed significantly. Performers need to exercise license in interpretation, which is what makes music interesting; there were, however, problems in this performance that cannot be attributed to license. There was excessive rubato (especially the E-flat theme in the 1st movement), clipping of phrases (especially at the top), labored passagework (entrance at the beginning of the 3rd movement), missed opportunity to build drama (the ending of the cadenza in the 3rd movement bordered on helter-skelter), and not enough projection in general.
When Mr. Mazzamutto did not take excessive liberties with the tempi, he demonstrated real artistry in some of the lovely themes that abound in this concerto. The 2nd movement was especially well done. He brings an indisputable passion to the keyboard, but that same passion might be getting in the way of what he is trying to project. Whatever concerns this listener had, the audience gave Mr. Mazzamutto an immediate and animated standing ovation.
After intermission, Mr. Mazzamutto returned to play the Piano Concerto No.3 in D minor, Op. 30 (again with the score being used). What was immediately apparent was that his playing and conception were much more assured than they were in the 2nd. Was this because he has had a longer relationship with the 3rd, or was it because he dedicated more time to it in preparation? I suspect it was a combination of the two.
The projection issues, however, continued. Perhaps the Fazioli piano was a source of this problem, as it seemed that Mr. Mazzamutto was fighting the instrument. His choice of the ossia cadenza in the first movement suffered from this projection issue, and that struggle both lessened the grandeur and rendered it a bit blurry. He did project a much better sense of drama, though, and a better building of the same than in the 2nd. The lead-in to the third movement attacca was good, and he maintained that momentum throughout the third movement, building the excitement with confidence and skill. He thundered through the octaves that end this piece, finishing in triumph. The audience immediately leapt to their feet and gave him an even more enthusiastic ovation than they did for the 2nd.
Some words about the conductor and orchestra are in order here. Maestro Fagone is an excellent communicator and collaborator with whom any soloist would be happy to perform. He expertly adjusted to the occasional unpredictability of the soloist and kept the orchestra in control. To be sure, there were some minor ensemble issues with the soloist, but these were correctly so quickly as to be almost unnoticeable. The playing of LICO was outstanding all evening. So many times a soloist is hitched to a less-than-stellar orchestra, and it mars everything, but LICO brought their “A-game” to these works. It was striking and made quite an impression on this listener.
As a general observation, I would be interested in hearing Mr. Mazzamutto play some less dense works that would fully take advantage of his passion and artistry.
After all this, as an encore, the 18th variation from the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini was played for the appreciative audience. A visibly moved Mr. Mazzamutto embraced the concertmaster, calling out to the audience “He is my brother!.” Maestro Fagone and Mr. Mazzamutto will be recording these concerti on September 3rd – I wish them good luck and all success.
