Out West Arts: Performance at the end of the world

Maazel and his cast of thousands
Photo: mine 2008

In a way it seems unfair to pick on Lorin Maazel these days. This is a popular pastime in print and on the internet and blaming him for any number of ills in performances of all stripes seems all too commonplace. But when you see a piece presented as unremarkably as Britten’s War Requiem was on Thursday night with the LA Philharmonic under his guidance, it’s also hard to avoid. On break from performances of Die Walküre at the Metropolitan Opera, Maazel led the Philharmonic for the first time in nearly thirty years. Also on stage were the combined resources of the LA Master Chorale and Children’s Chorale as well as three soloists including soprano Nancy Gustafson, tenor Vale Rideout, and baritone Ian Greenlaw. LA Phil Assistant Conductor Lionel Bringuier led the smaller chamber ensemble that punctuates the Requiem throughout. But all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't quite make all the pieces of Britten's massive work come together.

So what went wrong? I’m not exactly sure. It’s just that the whole thing seemed rather stale and mawkish. Maybe it was just the lack of a certain British quality to the proceedings. Certainly the work requires a certain amount of reserve, but tonight Maazel and the orchestra just seemed distant and hollow. Much of the first half came off as didactic – all the elements were there and the music sounded good but it didn't hit the mark. The Wilfred Owen texts, as beautiful as they are, almost seemed farcical at times as if taken out of a bad student play. There were bright spots, though. Gustafson stood out and the Master Chorale and Children’s chorale seemed to rise above it all, providing the lion’s share of the evening's memorable moments. Even the silly fade to black in the final bars with a sole spotlight on the conductor couldn’t detract from the wonderful singing of the chorale. Still, with current events what they are, such a hollow War Requiem seems like a missed opportunity.

Labels: LA Philharmonic 07/08, Music Reviews 07/08