The guest conductor was joined by the celebrated violinist at the L.A. Phil for sublime works by Reich, Rachmaninoff and Adams.
On Sunday afternoon, principal guest conductor Susanna Mälkki began her last concert of the season with the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Steve Reich’s “Runner.” Thanks to the L.A. Marathon, it was a day of runners. Reich, though, is not one of them.discussing his 2016 piece for winds, percussion and strings, the composer, who turned 85 last month, said his exercise choice is the treadmill and bicycle; the title came to him out of nowhere. Reich resisted the name at first.
Still, there was never any doubt that John Adams’ Violin Concerto with Leila Josefowicz as soloist was the main attraction. The concerto, which proved an instant sensation at its premiere in 1994 in Minneapolis and reached the L.A. Phil three years later, is already a modern classic widely performed.
During the slow movement, titled “Body Through Which the Dream Flows,” the orchestra intoned a Pachelbel-like canon while the violin glided above in otherworldly melody. It seemed worth glancing at Josefowicz’s feet from time to time to see if they were maybe hovering a few inches off the ground. On the other hand, if you closed your eyes, it became hard to pinpoint where the disembodied voice of the violin was coming from.
Mälkki kept them grounded, though the orchestra accompaniment has its own many issues. Instrumental lines snake over bar lines, intersecting in convoluted ways. These instrumental colors are seldom stable, the combinations ever changing. Two vintage synthesizers from the early ’90s added an electronic glaze that was best kept subtle. But the conductor played a crucial part, maintaining a solid base that allowed the soloist her exceptional openness.
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