Conductor Jean-François Rivest had promised us a “deeply I Musici trip” on Thursday evening at the string ensemble’s first concert of the year. Spectators at the Salle Pierre-Mercure were far from disappointed.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
The man who became artistic adviser and first guest conductor of I Musici two years ago entrusted The Press wanting to return to the roots of the orchestra founded in 1983 by Yuli Turovsky. Thursday’s concert, given with strings alone (it was titled The quintessence of I Musici), perfectly illustrated this philosophy.
The maestro clearly explained the approach taken for the arrangement of the two scores on the program: the Sextet noh 1 in B-flat majoropus 18, of Brahms and the Symphony noh 5 in C minor, opus 67, by Beethoven. If, in the first case, it was a question of enlarging the work from six to about fifteen musicians, it was necessary, in the second case, to “shrink” a complete symphony orchestra.
A successful deal
For Brahms, the conductor has also chosen to keep certain passages in a small committee. This will give us, for example, a first sentence of the main theme of the initial movement performed by three soloists, before the whole orchestra enters for the second sentence. The work as a whole is filled with these small, quite tasty subtleties which give us the opportunity, in particular, to hear the magnificent violin of Annie Guénette.
For Beethoven, Jean-François Rivest advances a quartet in front of the rest of the formation to take charge of the wind parts. Doubtful? It works very well, however, and we even hear things in a whole new light.
But back to Brahms. Rivest feels this music very well, the tender passion that emanates from it. The vast first movement is well done allegro non troppo. The musician takes the time to savor each phrase with infinite love. The first theme, but also the second in A major, sings in the most beautiful way. The following element, in F major, is well conducted expressive animation, an equivocal indication, but well written on the score. We feel the lightness of a feather.
Directed with emotion
We change landscape for the monumental second movement, which takes on the appearance of a powerful passacaglia. The foundations of the Center Pierre-Péladeau suddenly seem rooted in miles of rock. When the minor mode returns, after an incursion into the major, Jean-François Rivest leads the theme in the bass as if his life depended on it. We feel it close to tears.
If the molto (a lot) of theAllegro molto is relatively erased (easier to do, it is true, with a real sextet than with a string orchestra), we nevertheless gain a good-natured side that is not at all uninteresting. Impeccable finish, except for a temporary mess in the bass towards the end.
Before embarking on the Fifth of Beethoven, the conductor warns: “Do not try to recognize the same case [que la version avec orchestre], because you will be disappointed! No worries, because the conductor’s energy amply compensates for the relative uniformity of the writing for strings alone compared to that of a symphony orchestra.
The tempos chosen by Rivest may seem fast if we compare to a certain tradition, but it is enough to open the score to realize that it does exactly what the composer asks: a particularly muscular first movement (it is specified stupid brilliancewith ardor), a second movement stupid motorcycle (with movement), followed by two authentic allegros. Which does not prevent him from holding back the reins on certain occasions, as shortly before the coda presto of the final. We also don’t hear the usual ritenuto before the attack of the fourth movement… but we are once again in agreement with the text.
