On Thursday, Nov. 10, Myung-Whun Chung led the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in performing the overture from Carl Maria von Weber's "Der Freischütz," Samuel Barber's "Concerto for Piano and Orchestra," Op. 38 and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovksy's Symphony No. 6, "Pathetique" in B minor, Op. 74. Unlike its English definition, "pathétique" in French most closely translates to "moving" and "touching."
Chung led an exaggerated performance of Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony that did not allow the orchestra to play as effectively as it could have. In general, the tempo was too fast to hear each orchestral part distinctly.
In the introduction of the first movement, there is a restless theme that consists of staccato 16th notes, which is alternated between woodwinds and strings. Under Chung, the introduction was faster than I had ever heard it played before. Rather than smoothly introducing the mournful main theme, this section came across as rushed.
In the allegro vivo of the first movement, following the departure from D major, the lovely and now-familiar theme abruptly gives way to a frightening orchestral tutti that quickly leads into frenzy. A sneering horn section mocks the listeners as it races with the orchestra toward climax. This section is somewhat reminiscent of the thunderstorms in Beethoven's 6th symphony.
Once again, Chung's tempo made it increasingly difficult to effectively hear the character of all the instruments. As a result of the tempo, rather than giving a sense of arrival, the return of the main theme felt awkward and out of place. Chung should be reminded that increasing the speed and dynamic of the piece does not always correlate to increasing its emotional impact. Instead of presenting a smooth and continuous piece of music, discrete sections of the first movement felt compartmentalized, and transitions were neither careful nor nuanced.
In the second movement, Tchaikovsky takes us to a ballet with a waltz-like movement in 5/4 that would normally provide a break from the heavy first movement. In this case, it was difficult to hear the pizzicato strings, and the woodwind parts were blurred and difficult to make out.
The exception to this otherwise sub-par performance arrived in the third movement. Chung's conducting briefly transformed the piece into a brisk march. Under his guidance, this movement became especially stately. Its conclusive ending even moved the audience to applause.
Since the third movement has all the bells and whistles of a conclusive finale, I expected the fourth movement to present as a sweet elegy — an afterthought to the first three movements. The fourth movement does not build upon a main theme as obsessively as the first three movements, yet it still complements the first. Unfortunately, Chung's dynamic and hyperbolic style damaged the subtlety of the fourth movement. The verve of the piece should have already ended in its third movement — there was no need for Chung to force the characteristics of a conventional finale into the fourth movement.
Sadly, Thursday's BSO's performance of Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony was not carefully executed. Chung's exaggeration might work well for pieces like Dvo?ák's "New World" Symphony, but it is not suited for the intricacies and fine distinctions of Tchaikovsky's music.
