The National Symphony Orchestra had scheduled the local debut of 17-year-old prodigy Alexandra Dovgan for this week. Visa complications scuttled the Russian-born pianist’s entrance to the United States, but the program of Schumann’s Piano Concerto (heard from Beatrice Rana just last year) and Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony remained intact. Veteran conductor Marek Janowski led with assurance in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall Thursday evening.

French pianist Lise de la Salle, a one-time prodigy herself, stepped in as soloist, returning after a Mozart concerto just last season. Her approach to Schumann proved overly impetuous, with a driving sense of rhythm that caused some minor slips of the right hand in the first movement, including in the massive cadenza. The opening crash of chords and booming sections in octaves added plenty of excitement, and assistant principal oboist Jamie Roberts gave poignant clarity to the opening oboe solo derived from the name of Schumann’s beloved wife, Clara.

The second movement felt lithe and graceful, with the cello section glowing on their sighing theme. As that tune returned, there was a momentary disjunction between soloist and orchestra, which Janowski quickly resolved. The third movement suffered the most from the pianist’s almost frantic rushing ahead to the downbeat, requiring regular realignment from the podium, without providing the expected thrill in the major-mode conclusion of the work.

Enthusiastic ovations nonetheless earned the audience an encore, Claude Debussy’s prelude Danseuses de Delphes. Without the constant need to recalibrate with the ensemble, this piece floated serenely from the keys, a reminder of what a consummately skilled narrator de la Salle can be as a recitalist. The pianist’s announcement of the piece included offering this music as a prayer for peace and kindness in the world, and it certainly touched the audience as intended.

Janowski, former chief conductor of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, stepped down as the Dresden Philharmonic’s principal conductor just last year. The 85-year-old’s interpretation of Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony in 2019 remains among the best Bruckner heard from the NSO in recent memory, along with Manfred Honeck’s magnificent Ninth Symphony earlier this year.

This performance of the “Romantic,” in Nowak’s edition of the second version (1878/1880), deserved a place among those triumphs, an apt celebration of Bruckner’s 200th birthday anniversary this year. Janowski achieved this without any drama at the podium. Conducting without a score, he gave clear gestures that helped the NSO shape a massive architectural structure. The horns produced imperial power in the main theme of the first movement, returning at the end of the movement with thundering fullness. Only the woodwinds, especially the flutes, seemed slightly off at times in terms of intonation.

The signature horn theme, with its descending perfect fifth interval, was echoed by the melody given to the cellos at the start of the second movement. This slow, understated music, as a sort of funeral march only toward the end, featured mahogany sound from the low strings, including an extended melody played plangently by the violas. A faster middle section, powered by thrilling crescendos, still moved gracefully, as Janowski allowed this music to unfold at its own pace.

The high point of the evening was the “Hunting” Scherzo, which Janowski shaped with an expert sense of pacing and balance. The brass section glittered on the many fanfares, with only some unfortunate lapses in exposed trumpet parts to regret. The woodwinds offered rustic sounds in the dance-like trio section as well.

In the Finale, Janowski helped the musicians draw out many references back to the themes of the first three movements, again creating a vast sense of space-time that unified this monumental work. As the timpani roll marked the beginning of the symphony’s turn toward a conclusion, Janowski crafted a slow swell to a climax of heavenly bombast. One often has to wait a long time to reach such moments in Bruckner, but the payoff is grand.

The program will be repeated 11:30 a.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday. kennedy-center.org

One Response to “A grand night for Bruckner with Janowski, National Symphony”

1. Posted Nov 27, 2024 at 10:24 am by mariasantos

   This was an amazing concert. Janowski is a genius and the way he conducted that piece was incredible.

   Thank you for sharing, I will never forget this moment.

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