On Wednesday an excited crowd was most curious what might result from the joint production of Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto between the former chief conductor of the Hungarian State Orchestra and the current General Music Director of the same ensemble (which in its current incarnation is known as the National Philharmonic Orchestra). And of course, they were curious to know how Brahms's First Symphony would sound, conducted by the highly popular Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi, who now returned as a guest conductor. The critic, struggling to present an objective report, must make it absolutely clear that where the orchestral playing was concerned, there was no demonstrable difference between the two halves of this concert. In the past two years, Zoltán Kocsis has succeeded in hammering together a group of musicians with immense knowledge, stamina and capable of performing together to an equally high standard. However, the critic is forced to note that in the realm of stylistic faithfulness of performance, emphases and musical devices, there was truly a vast difference. It should perhaps be formulated as follows: there was a stark difference apparent between what was heard before the interval, and what after.

In Rachmaninov's Second Piano concerto, whatever we say about the conductor's presence, it was Zoltán Kocsis who ruled supreme. All this, of course, not in spectacle or in meta-communication, but in the authentic tempos, the refined characters, the sensitively washed colours and the carefully worked shadows of dynamics. As is well known, Rachmaninov is one of Zoltán Kocsis's passions, and it is no wonder that he played the Second Piano Concerto with total commitment, with perfect technical preparation and stunning technique. He produced symphonic sonorities when required, at other times, fashioning the sweeping highly emotional melodies with a bright tone and subtle touch – but always with taste and refinement, observing proportions and never overstepping that thin red line, which a true artist never crosses. From another perspective, it is a fact that here, in this stylistic world, Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi feels at home. Indeed, where this is concerned, anyone observing his career since winning the Hungarian Conductor's Competition twenty eight years ago, would say that essentially, the world of late-Romanticism is the only musical era and style for which he possesses truly an affinity, to which he is capable of accustoming his expressive devices. So performing with Kocsis is no great hardship for him, and the result was a powerful, monumental production with clearly defined contours. I sensed a gallant gesture in Kocsis refraining to give an encore: this symbolically suggested that this evening should belong to the returning, former conductor.

In the second-half, the returning, former conductor stood alone in front of the orchestra, which now has new faces as well as many that may still be familiar to him. The superficial listener, who only observes the execution, could say that the 62 year old Japanese artist gave a good account of Brahms's First Symphony. However, those who are interested in styles and shades, began to fidget from the earliest minutes of hearing the performance. Everything was heavy, compact, dense and heavy. The gestures were very important, the stresses very powerful, the sweetness very sweet and the softness very soft. In other words, the old tune, which, I cannot deny, was good to have forgotten. For Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi, the 19th century is a single homogenous mass, there is little indication that this knowledgeable musician with a superb memory and manual skills, actually distinguishes between periods in this era, or notices individuals or stylistic endeavours that differ from one another. He fundamentally smeared Brahms's First Symphony into Tchaikovsky, superfluously monumentalising the work, giving reasonable space for pathetic and often theatrical gestures, but hardly realising anything of the classical discipline which undeniably characterises Brahms in spite of all his Romantic features.

(National Philharmonic Orchestra, Zoltán Kocsis, Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi – Music Academy November 13th 2002.)

Kristof Csengery
(Hungarian Radio, Új Zenei Újság (New Music Magazine)