Concert
Commemorating Liszt
Manoel Theatre

That is how the song went and I am sure that many of the aficionados who attended the symphonic concert to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of Franz Liszt must have felt elated to have been present at the theatre on such a night.

The great music on offer, the brilliance of the pianist, the control, energy and detailed reading of the scores by the conductor plus the orchestra’s skilful interpretations made for a wonderful evening on Friday.

The first work presented was Liszt’s Les Préludes. We were off to a good start after the strikes which harkened the main musical motif and the clarion call on trumpet (Kevin Abela) who articulated well the sentence “the trumpet sounds the alarm” attributed to Lamartine. It is man’s destiny to try to come to terms with the world’s unsolved problems and it was this that the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, directed by Brian Schembri (picture), interpreted. Man seeks peace and quiet, but he knows that he would eventually return to the battleground to fight and face the storms ahead. Different sections and individual musicians – well-done Emanuel Spagnol and the woodwind section – played their best and helped to create a wonderful atmosphere with very good contrasts between furious passages and more tender ones. The work came to rousing end after the original Andante maestoso reappeared before the closing coda.

Next came Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Major, a work in one continuous movement but with several distinct sections. In this work Liszt was more concerned with his compositional skills than with his reputation as a great virtuoso. In fact, this composition, which was quite unusual in the 1840s when it was written, explored the possibility of creating a large-scale work based on variations and metamorphoses. Liszt succeeded well because, after moving through six different sections, the lyrical theme of the first section metamorphosed into the masculine, march-like melody of the sixth and final one. In the allegro moderato section the beautiful opening theme was played by the violoncello solo (Mario Psaila) and the pianist.

Although virtuosity was not the first priority on the composer’s mind, this work cannot but give credit to the pianist who must interpret it with aplomb and great confidence. A cascade of notes followed the introduction by the woodwinds –the clarinet being very prominent – while the unusual harmony must have sounded very avant-garde to Liszt’s contemporaries. The soloist, Balasz Szokolay, gave a scintillating performance which received loud applause from the packed theatre which appreciated his interpretative and technical skills.

After the interval we were regaled with Wagner’s Overture to Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg. At a slower pace than usual, the intentions of the conductor soon became evident when the intricate work undertaken by the wind instruments came to the fore.

A faster interpretation might have overcome the delicate sounds which we were able to appreciate in this luscious rendition by our national orchestra, who, being no more than 50-plus in number, managed to produce the big sounds associated with Wagner while at the same time showing its mettle when playing more softly. The pace was good, the control admirable and the finale exciting. Well done.

That rousing start to the second part of the concert led to Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Flat Major. This is a more conventional work than the second concerto performed earlier in the evening but once again it gave the audience the opportunity to appreciate the excellent skills and musicality of the solo performer. No wonder he has such a prestigious career and is so well regarded in the music world. The orchestra introduced the work followed by the pianist who had to face technical difficulties from his first entry. The powerful theme gave way to a quieter passage played by the piano and the clarinet.

This did not last long as the first powerful theme took over, leading the musicians and the audience into the lyrical second movement without a break. The string section mostly the cellos and basses dominated while the pianist played decorations in the upper register. Another blistering passage by the pianist brought the third movement to an end while the fourth and last movement (all presented without a break) gave the wood and brass an excellent opportunity to show their mettle. The many changes in rhythm and accents led to a bravura ending of this work which was much appreciated by the audience that gave a very warm applause to the soloist, the conductor and the orchestra.

So much so that the pianist gave two encores – the end part of the Hungarian Fantasy by Liszt and an excellent Liebestod from the opera Tristan und Isolde by Wagner, an encore that touched the heartstrings of all those present at the Manoel.

This was one concert that will not die quickly but will live for a long time in the heart of all those who were privileged enough to attend.