L'Auditori smelled new last night, at the start of the OBC season. Ludovic Morlot, brand-new head of the orchestra, diligently performed on the podium, maintaining that sparkle in his eyes and a certain aura of the man of the moment. But also returning to the orchestra, after a leave of more than a year, the fabulous Romanian concertmaster Vlad Stanculeasa. And the combination was felt: harmony, passion and dedication.
“Oh yes, I knew coming back would make things better. And this director is letting us work, he is doing very well”, affirmed the young Romanian at the end. After four minutes of round applause from the public, Morlot also came out exultant to celebrate its premiere. It will be that the French teacher has an angel.
It is true that, after an incandescent Let me tell you by the (very) Scandinavian Hans Abrahamsen, which luckily the soprano Audrey Luna did not get to cancel (she had physical discomfort), Mahler's Fourth Symphony revealed certain seams in the still recent orchestral entente.
But in the passionate 3rd movement, few people resisted Mahler's scorching strings. Or the angelic voice of the soprano Carolyn Sampson, who later appeared on stage as a being of light –“it's that I get into the symphony from the beginning”, she said–, as well as the new oboe soloist, Rafael Muñoz, which Morlot highlighted to the public.
This is how this adventure begins –it is repeated today and tomorrow– that will perhaps have less poetic aura than with Kazushi Ono. But if what that orchestra needs is someone to anchor it on solid ground, this baton could be Morlot.
The French maestro with an outstanding career in the Seattle Symphony sounds like a winning horse. Agile and dynamic –as if you don't get five Grammys–, he seems ready to accept criticism.
The staff of local composers wanted to be present at such an important moment: from Benet Casablancas to Joan Magrané, passing through Agustí Charles, Bernat Vivancos or Raquel García-Tomás. And also the director of O Vos Omnes, Xavier Pastrana.
Among the authorities, neither president of the Generalitat, nor councilor nor mayor. But the deputy mayor Jordi Marti and the general secretary of Culture, Jordi Foz, were welcomed in his place. In addition to Artur Mas, Ernest Maragall... the model Judith Mascó or the German consul
