BSO Bares Shoulders, Little Else

ANNE-SOPHIE MUTTER AND THE BSO

Boston Symphony Orchestra

At Symphony Hall

Through Oct. 13

True, Ms. Mutter was strapless, playing the violin in a gun-metal gray dress, and Mr. Ozawa was batonless, conducting as if summoning some ancient rain spirit. But these were the few rare unconventional elements of BSO's February 8th performance of Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D, Opus 61 and Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps, pictures from pagan Russia.

In celebration of Seiji Ozawa's 25th Anniversary Season as the music director of the BSO, internationally renowned violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter was invited to play her first engagement with the symphony since November 1993. You may know Ms. Mutter more for her interpretations of 20th century music or perhaps for her provocative personal style, but judging from her performance last Tuesday she should be equally well known for her superb technical abilities.

One challenge of Beethoven's Concerto occurs in the first movement, where the notes span almost the entire range of the violin, rising to a D two octaves above the staff. As stated by the program, "This sort of exposed writing in the upper register is more indicative than anything else of what the solo part in this concerto is about." As the pitches began to stretch the bound of Human aural tolerability, one was truly thankful that it was in the hands of such an accomplished violinist. Mutter handled these delicate passages with grace and finesse, never allowing emotion to overtake the intricacy of the music, her timbre unfaltering. Though Mutter's rendition of the concerto was very bright in tone, it was by no means what you would call a "risky performance" or a "quirky interpretation." Though the Concerto was written at the time of the darker Eroica and Fifth Symphonies, the intent of the Concerto seems more lyrical than heroic.

In contrast to the concerto, a "quirky interpretation," or at least some risk taking was just what Stravinksy's Le Sacre needed. Unfortunately as noted by one fellow concert-goer, "It was played too much like Debussy." That is to say that there was too much late 19th century impressionism and not enough Igor Stravinsky. It's not the type of music that you walk down the Champs-Elysees listening to, which should be evident from the subtitle of the piece, "pictures from Pagan Russia."

As emphasized by the liner notes, Le Sacre continues to challenge our imagination not only because of its dissonant sound but because Stravinsky destroyed "the tyranny of the bar line." From that famous thirteen beat F-flat and E-flat seventh polychord in the "Auguries of Spring" to the 3/16, 2/16, 3/16, 3/16, 2/8, 2/16, 3/16, 3/16, 2/8, 3/16, 3/16, 5/16 alternation of meter in the "Scarificial Dance," it's all about rhythm. Because rhythm is so dependent on tempo, it is particularly crucial that Le Sacre not be languished upon for its unique sound at the expense of its intricate and some-times cryptic rhythms. To perform the piece well demands a complete renunciation of the orchestra to the violent, feral beauty of Le Sacre. This crucial risk was not taken in Saturday performance.

The BSO's sound was extraordinary. This was concert where one could finally begin to appreciate the famous acoustics of Symphony Hall. Sadly, the performance itself was on the whole too slow and too reserved to fulfill the intense potential of the music.