Review: A Case for Understated Majesty at the Philharmonic
I always wince when people say they like classical music, “but not the new stuff.”
Comments like that are not only shortsighted — the old stuff was, in its time, of course new and often radical — but they also don’t take into account how varied contemporary music is, and how much of it is actually quite easy to love.
Take Anders Hillborg’s second piano concerto, “The MAX Concerto,” which had its local premiere with the New York Philharmonic on Thursday. Programmed somewhat arbitrarily between works by Sibelius and Rachmaninoff, it was more entertaining than either of them, and just as well crafted.
First performed in October in San Francisco, the concerto acknowledges the lineage of its genre with playfulness and reverence, and showcases Emanuel Ax, the soloist for whom it was written, by matching and pushing his brand of modest, underrated virtuosity. Likable without being eager to please, thrilling without shameless dazzle, it is, like Ax, enjoyable simply because it’s excellent.
And, crucially, Hillborg’s concerto works regardless of how familiar a listener is with his music, or any classical music for that matter. You could be aware of the piece’s form — its nine evocatively titled sections, performed as a single, 21-minute movement — or smile at “MAX,” a contraction of “Manny Ax.” You could pick up on the opening passage’s nod to Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto, or a later suggestion of Bach. Or you could just sit back and sense, intuitively, the genial majesty and pleasure coursing through it all.
…Ax’s style can easily be taken for granted, and some have found in his playing a kind of boring affability, though that may be something closer to wisdom; not for nothing is he a remarkable Brahms interpreter. Hillborg, brilliantly, has composed a mirror of Ax’s pianism that resists grandiosity and theatrical gesture. While “The MAX Concerto” is difficult — the solo part uses nearly all of the keyboard and demands cool precision — it also unfurls with graceful restraint.
The strings, for instance, most often appear as glassy foundation, delicately suspended and lustrous. At times, they align with the winds to take on the full-bodied warmth of an organ, with droning tones that slowly morph into flaring, mighty radiance. The piano joins them, but later has the final word with a robust chord that requires all of Ax’s 10 fingers, yet, true to his sound, comes off with unshowy tenderness…
Joshua Barone, New York Times, Feb 23, 2024Joshua Barone, New York Times, Feb 23, 2024