Back from the Netherlands, Patricia Kopatchinskaja opinions?

[Diapason]

Last week, I went to the Netherlands with some friends, primarily to attend organ recitals in The Hague, but also to go to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. We managed to get to 3 organ recitals in 2 days (including my first time hearing the magnificent beast at Saint Bavo's in Haarlem and the always outstanding Ben van Oosten in The Hague) but I'm sure you don't want to hear about that!

The concert at the Concertgebouw was where things got really interesting. First things first, the hall's sonic reputation is completely justified: the acoustics were just delightful. It actually surpassed my expectations with astonishing clarity coupled with real warmth giving a truly gorgeous orchestral sound. Goosebump-inducing magic.

So, the concert programme itself was
Brahms - Variations on a theme of J. Haydn, op. 56a
Mozart - Violin concerto in A, KV 219
Sibelius - Fifth Symphony, op. 82

WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste, with Patricia Kopatchinskaja as violin soloist in the Mozart.

The Brahms and Sibelius were superb, really enjoyable, but I *hated* the soloist's playing in the Mozart. Her tuning was awful, just awful, her violin sound was not always pleasant, the playing was full of eccentric mannerisms and affected gestures, her pianissimo passages were bordering on the ridiculously quiet, her stage movement was very distracting and just when I thought it couldn't get much worse she played the most ridiculous cadenzas I've ever heard in Mozart. I got the distinct sense from the conductor's demeanour that he wasn't too impressed either, and there were moments where they seemed to be completely at odds with each other in terms of what the music was going to do.

So, given all this, you'll imagine my surprise when the end of the piece was met with a roar of approval from the audience, everyone leaping to their feet cheering ecstatically. At first I thought that maybe it was just me that didn't get it, but it became apparent that the 4 other people I was there with (all professional musicians, for what it's worth) shared my view completely. We were all completely shocked by the audience reaction, and in fact some of the "standers" were sufficiently enthused that they started gesturing for us to stand too.

During the interval (over complimentary drinks for all -- nice touch, Concertgebouw!) I did a bit of googling to see who this person was, only to discover that she has awards up the wazoo, including Gramophone's recording of the year last year. She played an encore of some description that maybe was more enlightening, as it was a short modern piece that involved her shouting along with the playing. Maybe Mozart is not her strength or something. One way or the other, it was all completely bizarre.

Has anyone else heard this violinist? Anyone seen her live? Any thoughts?

[DaveF]

Nice writeup Simon. Never heard of this violinist but then again I'm way out of touch regarding the who's who in the classical world these days.

Must have been quite an experience attending the Concertgebouw. How will you be able to go back to the NCH after that.

Btw, this thread is useless without pics! :-)

[Diapason]

It will be hard to go back to the NCH, alright. I didn't think the NCH acoustics were too bad really, but now I know the difference...

Btw, this thread is useless without pics! :-)

How many can you cope with? I've put some highlights on my Google Plus page (which I never use!) here and here but for me, it's all about this:

[DaveF]

now this pic is just all kinds of awesome!

[Diapason]

I can honestly say that the camera doesn't really capture the scale of what we're dealing with here.

[DaveF]

I can imagine! That organ looks a bit taller than the beast at St Ouen or maybe its just the way it came out in the photo.

[Diapason]

It probably is taller, but I'll let you know if and when I make it to Rouen.........

[Ciaran]

On the two occasions (neither recent!) I was at a concert in the Concertgebouw I was stunned by how good the acoustics were, I've never heard anything like it!

I have some CDs of Kopatchinskaja: her Beethoven Violin Concerto is very good, the others I also enjoyed. I am planning to get the Prokofiev/Stravinsky Concertos and her Ustvolskaya record. So clearly I like her on record, but what you heard in the concert sounds disconcerting: and I thought it was only in the NCH where every soloist had to get a standing ovation?