It was something VERY different. The Boston Philharmonic lead by Zander gave a concert with Lutoslawski’ Concerto for Orchestra and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3,   Gabriela Montero at  piano

http://www.bostonphil.org/BPO/

I was thinking about to go or not:

http://www.goodsoundclub.com/GetPost.aspx?PostID=9725

And then I figured that this year is 100 anniversary of the Concerto and it would be worth to attend a live Rach 3 this year. Also, my favorite sits in Jordan Hall were available and the Jordan Hall is few block from my home – so no brainer.

When I see the program it was a fist shock to me: the Rachmaninoff’s Concerto opened the programs and Lutoslawski’s Concerto closed it.  You need to have a LOT of balls to set up the program like this, in fact it appeared to me even rude to do the thing like this – I had no idea what was coming.

The Orchestra, Zander and Gabriela Montero proceeded with Rachmaninoff’s celebrated work. Zander was good and supportive; the BPO was at their typical amateur “Modus Operandi” – the orchestral sounder like a high-school band, sadly not even a good high-school band… Still the key in the concert was the renowned Gabriela Montero. Among all word in my vocabulary I can’t found any better trims to describe her play besides saying that she was “fucking clueless”. I can talk a lot how she butchered the whole concert but she does not truly deserve my time. The only thing that I can say that the play she demonstrates is a disqualifying play that shell permanently eliminates an artist from any horizons of interest. She was very warmly accepted by the Jordan Hall audiences but you know… the people are Morons….

Then a nice cigar break and Boston Philharmonic dived into the Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concerto_for_Orchestra_(Lutos%C5%82awski)

I never heard the work and was not expecting anything exiting; I pretty much was ready to declare the evening as ruined. In 20 minute I was watching at the stage with my jaw dropped and did not believe what I was hearing – it was one of those few greatest moments that we, the classical music snobs, are livening for. The peace itself is truly amassing. It is avantgardeish but not without a sense of melody and understood structure. It is absolutely brilliantly and incredibly smartly orchestrated. It is “light” and in a way it is “about nothing”, sort of musically for a sake of musically but it is so neatly and doe composed with so much wit that it self-contained pleasure to experience it.

Then there was the Boston Philharmonic. I NEVER heard from this orchestra such a phenomenal play!  The whole Lutoslawski’s Concerto is based upon the intercourse between different sections that to do it PROPERLY and DEMANDINGLY requires very serious playing techniques. The Boston Philharmonic show off unbelievable class! I mean with no excuses to the facts that it is “just a third-grade orchestra in Boston” – it was played as I did not wish it might be better.  Considering my snobbish and hard to please attitude it is a quite a high grade.

Then there was the Ben Zander. He is not adored by my conductor and many of his lectures about music I find in a way annoying or very cheap-sensationalism oriented. He is OK conductor but with this Concerto it was a firework what a superbly smart conductor is able to do. If to look at the Lutoslawski’s Concerto and to hear how Mr. Zander decided to play it with Boston Philharmonic then it will be very clear what a great conductor Benjamin Zander is. Zander know very well what kind orchestra he had in his disposal. He knows all textural, tonal, integrational and many other shortcomings coming of his orchestra. So, he arranged to play the Lutoslawski work that orchestra played only on the strengths, without going to the areas where it would slip. And the orchestra responded absolutely wonderful, creating some kind of new playing might – it was absolutely wonderful to experience. It was in a way similar to a not particularly pretty woman who used proper make up techniques and creative dressing was able to hide her points of ugliness and highlight her pleasant qualities. As the result she turns herself into a presentable queen of beauty and this confidence made her to believe like a queen when you use her. Benjamin Zander made the Boston Philharmonic to sound with Lutoslawski’s Concerto like a great orchestra and here my very enthusiastic applauds to Mr. Zander and BPO. Considering that I am seldom applaud at concerts it might be considered as a sign…