Music has its own rules and often their knowledge helps musicians to be on the same page. It was a similar feeling for Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI)’s resident conductor Evgeny Bushkov and leading concert pianist, writer and composer Stephen Hough as they performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 Emperor and Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 Jupiter in Mumbai.
Hough and Bushkov, who were collaborating for the first time, performed on the concluding day of the Autumn 2017 Season of the SOI, India’s first and only professional orchestra, set up in 2006 to offer symphonic pieces of great composers to Indian audiences.
Interestingly, the Emperor was Beethoven’s last piano concerto, while the Symphony No. 41 was the longest and last symphony composed by Mozart.
SOI's resident conductor Evgeny Bushkov | File
Touted as one of the most original yet difficult of all concertos, the Emperor is Beethoven’s most accomplished work and has strong virtuosic style and a wide dynamic range. Belying conventional boundaries, its bold melody evokes heroic spirit as well as romance in equal measure. The Jupiter, easily the most complex of Mozart’s works, is known for its strong post-modernist influences, exuberant energy and strong, dramatic symphonic movements.
For Bushkov, who has earlier worked with several orchestras across the globe, including the Moscow Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre, the biggest revelation was to collaborate with Hough. He says, “Though I had heard of him before and listened to some of his recordings, rehearsing with him and working so closely has been one of the strongest musical impressions of my career. He has an open mind and is attuned to the current trends in western classical music. This made the performance quite memorable for me.”
Describing his collaboration with the Grammy-nominated artist as an almost ideal one, he states, “Since I had access to Hough’s last recording at the New York Philharmonic where he performed a few months ago, I knew how he functioned. He was open to new ideas and was keen to create something different which proved that he was musically tuned. He brought some changes in the articulation which weren’t too drastic but in sync with what I had thought of. Hough is an organised soloist in terms of tempo and has a strong sense of rhythm.”
“I was extremely happy to find that Hough is well-educated and knowledgeable about classical music. I learnt how to play classical music from some wonderful musicians. So for me, it it’s quite rare to find somebody attuned to the same lines,” adds the Russian artist.
He recalls that the British pianist brought the bearings of German conductor Wilhelm Furtwaengler, regarded as one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, which is hitherto unseen in the current western classical music scenario.
The Autumn 2017 Season of the SOI, which featured the works of stalwarts such as Beethoven, Mozart, Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Korngold and Karl Jenkins, proved to be a treat for connoisseurs of western classical music. The season kick-started on September 13 at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai with a performance by eminent Polish conductor Jacek Kaspszyk. Along with Hungarian cellist István Várdai, he performed Czech composer Antonin Dvořák’s last solo concerto—cello concerto.
While leading Chinese violinist Dan Zhu collaborated with Kaspszyk, world-renowned composer Karl Jenkins performed his new piece, The Universe with SOI’s music director Marat Bisengaliev on the violin. The season concluded on September 28.
According to Khushroo N. Suntook, NCPA Chairman and founder of SOI, every year they strive to showcase celebrated talent to the patrons and this time was no different. “This season, music aficionados were able to witness a new piece, The Universe, by the legendary Karl Jenkins. We were also delighted to have Stephen Hough, one of the greatest living pianists perform the Emperor concerto with us.”
