{"id":110137,"date":"2024-12-09T15:49:48","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T20:49:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=110137"},"modified":"2024-12-10T07:00:03","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T12:00:03","slug":"scrutiny-semyon-bychkov-czech-philharmonic-celebrate-year-czech-music-sublime-beauty-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/12\/09\/scrutiny-semyon-bychkov-czech-philharmonic-celebrate-year-czech-music-sublime-beauty-toronto\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Semyon Bychkov And Czech Philharmonic Celebrate The Year Of Czech Music With Sublime Beauty In Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Semyon
Semyon Bychkov conducts the Czech Philharmonic with soloist violinist Jan Mr\u00e1\u010dek in Toronto\u2019s Koerner Hall, December 8, 2024 (Photo: Petra Hajska<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anton\u00edn Dvo\u0159\u00e1k: Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53; Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor. Jan Mr\u00e1\u010dek violin, Semyon Bychkov conductor, Czech Philharmonic. Koerner Hall, Toronto; December 8, 2024.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

So this must be what \u2018Stendahl Syndrome\u2019 \u2014 the 19th-century author\u2019s psycho-physical reaction to the beauty of the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence \u2014 feels like. The soundworld of the Czech Philharmonic, led by their current Music Director, Semyon Bychkov, was no less sublime to me than the Italian masterpiece to the great Frenchman.<\/p>\n

The occasion was perfectly set up, since this was the end of the orchestra\u2019s two-stop North American tour, following Carnegie Hall, where they gave three concerts last week. With its warm, vibrant acoustics and intimate scale, the Koerner Hall provided the ideal venue. Not only that, but this was the rounding up of the Czech Phil\u2019s Czech year of music \u2014 a tradition established since the 1924 centenary of the birth of Bed\u0159ich Smetana, and revisited every decade in years ending in 4, which happens to mark other important milestones of Czech music, such as Smetana\u2019s death in 1884, Jan\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s birth in 1854, and Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s death in1904.<\/p>\n

The New York City and Toronto concerts were accordingly celebrations of all things Czech and Bohemian (which is where Mahler fits in, since he was born in Bohemia and only moved to Vienna in his mid-teens).<\/p>\n

\"Violinist
Violinist Jan Mr\u00e1\u010dek performs with conductor Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic in Toronto\u2019s Koerner Hall, December 8, 2024 (Photo: Petra Hajska)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dvo\u0159\u00e1k: Violin Concerto in A minor<\/h3>\n

The orchestra brought with them all three Dvo\u0159\u00e1k concertos (for piano, violin and cello) and paired these with larger orchestra (and choral) works for the tour. Alas, the pair of Toronto concerts did not include Yo-Yo Ma in the much-loved cello concerto, nor Jan\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s stupendous Glagolitic Mass. Instead of yet another Grammy Award winner (Gil Shaham) as the soloist in the Violin Concerto, we heard Jan Mr\u00e1\u010dek<\/strong>, the orchestra\u2019s youthful concertmaster (the night before, Daniil Trifonov<\/strong> had given a dazzling rendition of the lesser-known Piano Concerto).<\/p>\n

The performance was strong in every respect, but especially so in terms of esprit de corps. There was no ego on display, and some might even have found the first solo bars unduly restrained; yet Mr\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s warm, noble tone, while naturally blending with the orchestra, soon acquired the necessary flair and swagger.<\/p>\n

Here was a reminder, if we needed it, that the mercurial shapeshifting first movement is a wonder of constant self-reinvention. The Adagio ma non troppo was heartbreakingly tender and sublime, with Bychkov almost literally caressing each note and dispensing with the baton in order to encourage maximum suppleness. The spirited finale put Czech national colours on full display, evoking the spirit of the composer\u2019s Slavonic Dances.<\/p>\n

Plenty of smiles were exchanged between the soloist and his colleagues, and the whole thing felt like a convivial get-together, with Bychkov a loving and caring host, gently facilitating rather than forcing his guests. Even the encore had a moment of playful camaraderie, as Mr\u00e1\u010dek left the final left-hand pizzicato to the evening\u2019s concertmaster, Ji\u0159\u00ed Vodi\u010dka<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Semyon
Semyon Bychkov conducts the Czech Philharmonic in Toronto\u2019s Koerner Hall, December 8, 2024 (Photo: Petra Hajska)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor<\/h3>\n

The second half of the concert was even more in need of a Stendahl-style Art Attack warning. This was Mahler\u2019s Fifth Symphony at its rawest, its most exuberant, its most transcendental, with a kaleidoscopic display of colour and emotions, and a sense of architecture to rival any Italian Renaissance monument.<\/p>\n

From the solemn, yet larger-than-life trumpet calls, to the chilling control and resistance of the funeral procession in the first movement, to the ferocious urgency and hair-raising eruptions of the second, to the ghostly strings and haunted horn obbligato of the Scherzo, and finally to the triumphant emergence of life from the darkness and death in the finale, this was an astonishing fusion of virtuosity and insight. Not forgetting that most exquisite of musical love letters, the famous Adagietto.<\/p>\n

With Jana Bou\u0161kov\u00e1<\/strong>\u2019s sublime harp accompaniment (placed centre-staged), silky strings, and Bychkov\u2019s balletic soft hands, this was one of those heart-stoppingly celestial experiences where time stands still.<\/p>\n

Are you looking to promote an event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0news tip<\/u><\/a>? Need to know the best\u00a0events<\/u><\/a>\u00a0happening this weekend? Send us a\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>note<\/u>.<\/em><\/strong>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n

Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! \u2014 local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox <\/em>HERE<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The soundworld of the Czech Philharmonic, led by their current Music Director, Semyon Bychkov, was a sublime celebration of Czech music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":110139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40967,76,19,875,52,63,68],"tags":[936,6437,41436],"yst_prominent_words":[13065,12685,21337,6606,12690,7251],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/12\/Copy-of-REVIEW-2024-12-09T154310.017.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-sEp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110137"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110137"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110151,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110137\/revisions\/110151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110137"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=110137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}