Concert Report/ Neeme Järvi & Freddy Kempf

The Hague, November 26th, Dr. Anton Philipszaal

It’s only when the Anton Philipszaal, The Hague’s main Conert Hall is slowly approaching “Breaking Point” (no crisis of classical music here) and we’ve fully accepted the fact that we’ll have to wait ages for our coats later on, that we start to realize what a truly fascinating evening we’re about to witness: Neeme Järvi, Estonia’s pride when it comes to conducting and father to two equally talented sons, has brought back precision and fire to an orchestra, which had long lost its teeth and status. The program is about to jump from Haydn to Grieg and then from Liszt to Mendelssohn. And finally, there’s Freddy Kempf, one of the few pianists who combines charisma with a totally individual voice. This could be special.

We’re into a few minutes of Hadn and Järvi’s work behind the scenes has already payed off. The orchestra hasn’t sounded this full, concise and spaceous for a very long time and Järvi pays well-deserved and sensible attention to the Bass-section, instead of focussing on the violins for 90% of the time. He comes back for a full four rounds of applause – part of a “running gag” this evening, which sees the almost 70 year old turn into both a full-grown entertainer and a man who puts his musicians first.
Then Kempf enters the stage. Dressed like Johny Cash in existencialist black, he immediately has the audience’s full attention. No razzmatazz, just a short and deep bow and then we’re off to a flying start of Grieg’s one and only piano concerto. Kempf is all concentration, slipping away in his “Mad Professor act”, bent over the keys and hitting them with both wild fury and affection. “Subtle”doesn’t seem to be the word for tonight – this performance is all about dynamics and extremes. Listeners are thrown from passages of stupifying passion into the most tender silence. Especially the second movement profits from this approach, never turning overly emotional and maintaining a wondersome beauty despite its breathtaking momentum. Don’t let yourself be fooled: Freddy’s a romantic, but he likes to stay away from cliches. And one thing’s for sure – this piece seems to’ve been written especially for him, with it’s lightning-speed changes of accentuation, style and feeling. And while the orchestral sound is deep and warm, there’s even time for an intimate dialogue between piano and cello. The third movement closes with a bang and then there’s a few minutes of standing ovations. Kempf comes back again and again, clearly exhausted. Järvi whispers something into his ear – an encore-request? A commendation? A friendly hint from one generation to another?

We won’t find out tonight. There’s no encore, but red whine for free instead (it’s included in ticket prices) and a second half, which doesn’t quite live up to the promises of the first. But even waiting a quarter of an hour for our coats at the end doesn’t seem to matter now.

Homepage: Residentie Orkest
Homepage: Freddy Kempf at IMG Artists
Homepage: Freddy Kempf Fan Page