Romania George Enescu Worldwide Competition 2025 [4] – Ravel, Debussy: Martha Argerich (piano), Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo / Charles Dutoit (conductor). Romanian Atheneum, Bucharest, 15.9.2025. (ES-S)
Ravel – Ma mère l’Oye, M.60; Piano Concerto in G main, M.83; Valses nobles et sentimentales, M.61
4-hand piano encore: ‘Laideronette, Impératrice des Pagodes’ from Ma mère l’Oye
Orchestral encore: ‘Pavane pour une infante défunte’
Encore: Scarlatti – Keyboard Sonata in D Minor, Okay.141
Debussy – La mer, L.109
The Enescu Competition’s afternoon on the Romanian Atheneum with Charles Dutoit and the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic was framed as a journey by the soundworlds of Ravel and Debussy. At its middle stood Martha Argerich, whose presence alone transforms any live performance into an occasion. Expectations had been particularly excessive: she had been scheduled earlier within the competition to play Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto with the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia underneath Daniel Harding however had withdrawn and been changed by Seong-Jin Cho. Thus, her return to the stage in Bucharest was charged with anticipation, and the sold-out corridor confirmed her enduring magnetism.
Ma mère l’Oye, the primary work in a program formed to honor Ravel’s sesquicentennial, served as a glowing curtain-raiser. Although conceived for youngsters, the suite carries narratives of loss, menace and transformation. In ‘Petit Poucet’, wandering strains hint the boy’s misplaced steps till they dissolve into silence. ‘Laideronnette, Impératrice des Pagodes’ brings pentatonic figurations that conjure each unique attraction and ironic caricature. In ‘Les entretiens de la Belle et de la Bête’, Magnificence’s sleek waltz intertwines with the bassoon’s burlesque caricature of the Beast, its rasping timbre set towards her class earlier than strings mark his transformation. Dutoit emphasised the childlike qualities – pastel orchestration, softened contours, light pacing. Much less current had been the narrative undertones: the unease within the meandering strains, the gruff humor of the Beast, the shadows beneath the fairy-tale brightness. At occasions, the efficiency may need benefited from larger rhythmic edge to sharpen contrasts and convey out the stress beneath Ravel’s enchanted world.
After the interval, one other Ravel suite, Valses nobles et sentimentales, continued in the identical vein. Written as a modernist response to the Viennese waltz custom, the cycle alternates between affectionate homage and sharp irony, its attraction undercut by sudden harmonic shifts and fleeting dissonances. Dutoit formed every miniature with care, however the contours had been softened, the heartbeat smoothed into class slightly than given its full edge. The strings produced a luminous sheen, woodwinds including grace within the extra reflective episodes, but the rating’s volatility remained understated. The closing epilogue, wherein reminiscences of the sooner waltzes drift in and dissolve, carried a delicate melancholy that was superbly realized, however contrasts between the heady swirl and its dissolution may have been profiled extra strongly. As within the fairy-tale suite, refinement predominated over rigidity – a alternative that emphasised magnificence if often on the expense of chunk.
The centerpiece of the efficiency was Ravel’s Concerto in G main, with Argerich reaffirming her singular mix of spontaneity, readability and creativeness. The opening motion, pushed by jazz-tinged syncopations, had rhythmic vitality in abundance; runs sparkled, accents carried a mischievous vitality and moments of rubato gave acquainted phrases a way of discovery. The Adagio assai revealed her present for introspection – the lengthy, unbroken melody unfolding with luminous simplicity, warmly answered by woodwinds. The finale burst out with dazzling agility and playful élan, by no means lapsing into mere show. But regardless of her decades-long partnership with Charles Dutoit, the collaboration was not all the time seamless; a couple of transitions appeared barely unsettled, and the stability between soloist and orchestra was at occasions imperfectly calibrated. The Monte-Carlo brass, too, often sounded a little bit uncooked, a trait noticeable elsewhere in this system. What remained most hanging was Argerich’s mercurial presence – as fascinating as ever and nonetheless able to making the acquainted sound freshly alive.
The ovations had been speedy and insistent, and Argerich, ever beneficiant, responded with two encores. First got here an affectionate shock. Nelson Goerner – who had appeared as a soloist with the identical orchestra underneath Kazuki Yamada the day past performing Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand – joined her on the keyboard for the unique model of ‘Laideronnette, Impératrice des Pagodes’ from Ma mère l’Oye. Argentinian-born like Argerich, he has lengthy been one in all her closest musical companions, and their playful ease right here radiated each intimacy and spontaneity. She then turned to Scarlatti’s Sonata in D minor, unleashing its toccata-like figuration with razor-sharp articulation and irresistible ahead drive. What amazed most was her seemingly unbridled vitality: at an age when many artists mood their tempo, Argerich nonetheless propelled the music with a vitality that felt each pure and inexhaustible. The flicker she delivered to Scarlatti left the viewers cheering with renewed fervor.
Debussy’s La mer introduced this system to a detailed with a seascape without delay expansive and elusive. Few conductors are as carefully related to French impressionist repertoire as Dutoit, and his command of Debussy’s intricate textures was evident. ‘De l’aube à midi sur la mer’ unfolded with luminous brass fanfares and finely layered strings, although climaxes typically blurred element. ‘Jeux de vagues’ sparkled with agility, woodwinds and harp darting throughout the floor, even when ensemble precision was not infallible. Within the closing ‘Dialogue du vent et de la mer’, Dutoit sculpted a gradual construct towards grandeur, the orchestral sound gathering energy in broad surges. Regardless of occasional imperfections, the efficiency projected each transparency and sweep, capturing the vastness and the shifting iridescence of Debussy’s imagined sea.
As a closing encore, Dutoit led the orchestra in Ravel’s ‘Pavane pour une infante défunte’. After the brilliance and turbulence that had come earlier than, its restrained class supplied a second of repose, the strings shaping the lengthy strains with poise whereas winds added light shade.
But, past the refinement of the French repertoire supplied, Argerich’s artistry, nonetheless very important and deeply human, gave the efficiency its true distinction.
Edward Sava-Segal
Featured Picture: Charles Dutoit conducting the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic © Cristina Tanase
