Kicking off a two-week season finale focused on the works of Ludwig van Beethoven, Jeffrey Kahane and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra performed not one, but three of the German master’s beloved piano concertos Friday night.
Playing to an enthusiastic crowd at Boettcher Concert Hall, Kahane – in fine form after a sustained hiatus to treat a bout of dangerously high blood pressure – took on the demanding dual role of soloist and conductor.
Facing the orchestra from the bench of a lidless Steinway, the committed maestro did what he does best – make beautiful music in a participatory kind of way. Kahane’s approach to music-making stems from a sure musical understanding and an authentic zeal to fully involve his onstage collaborators and listeners.
Opening with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Kahane revealed the substantial grace and cheer of the first movement in a carefully attuned repartee between his solo passages and the steadying role of the orchestra. The carefree, fantasy-like second movement was rendered with a spirit of dreaminess, and the finale, Molto allegro, was brisk and fresh.
The effervescent maestro then went full throttle into an altogether satisfying conception of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Kahane and the well-tempered orchestra skillfully illuminated the Mozartian sensibilities of the Allegro con brio movement, even as they collectively showcased the originality and weightiness of the development section.
Tempos never flagging, the ornamented themes of the lovely Largo movement led seamlessly into the robust, final Allegro. At the end of its unusual second cadenza and delightful interplay between drama and mirth, the orchestra landed the last word.
Beethoven’s fourth piano concerto was a spellbinding study of emotional depth and sweetness. From the softly rhythmic, unaccompanied chords at the start of the first movement through the captivating concurrence of the strings’ strong, punctuated passages and the piano’s legato replies in the second movement, Kahane and company remained closely synched. Their palpable pleasure in the music before them culminated in a stimulating closing.
Consummate musical interpreter that he is, Kahane is less consistent as a pianist. While fearless and fleet-fingered, his technique is sometimes dazzling, sometimes smeared. But the overall “Kahane Effect” never disappoints.
