It was an unusual debut in Barcelona. The Filharmonic Ensemble, the group formed by members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, arrived in the capital to perform the repertoire of the New Year's Concert that just the day before they had given in large format from the televised Musikverein in the Austrian capital. It was an opportunity to experience the popular annual classical event live, only here, at the Teatre Coliseum on Gran Via, there were thirteen instruments. And given what we have seen, it was not without its advantages...
All the military aspect that certain 19th century polkas and marches acquire when orchestrated in a grand style is dampened and the works recover, in ensemble, their human dimension and danced celebration. The thirteen soloists, led by the Albanian violinist Shkelzen Doli (with the Vienna Philharmonic since 1995), offered it in great detail before a stunned audience that filled the room 90% and reacted ecstatically at the end of each piece.
The program was dominated by Johann Strauss Jr., who precisely used to arrange his own pieces for ensemble. And the sweetness with which his waltzes sounded – Where the Lemon Trees Bloom, Roses of the South, Voices of Spring, Vienna Blood, Life as an Artist – invited one to imagine oneself in a magnificent ballroom with the most luxurious formation in this musical discourse, as if at any moment Grace Kelly from The Swan or Claudia Cardinale from The Leopard could appear.
The polkas, whether French, fast or pizzicato, retained their humorous winks and the counterpoint of the chirping of birds in counterpoint... without, however, falling into predictable friendliness. In addition, they were allowed to introduce Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Brahms and others by Delibes.
The veteran Czech violinist Milan Šetena and the Australian viola player Tobias Lea contrasted in age with the young cellist Sebastian Bru (Vienna, 1987) and the also Czech Filip Waldmann on double bass. Walter Auer, the solo flutist of the Vienna Philharmonic, led the brass, with the German Lars Stransky and the Croatian Jan Jankovic on the Viennese horns, providing that unique warmth, while the great Clemens Horak had taken up his oboe, Stepan Turnovsky the bassoon, Gregor Hinterreiter on clarinet and Klaus Zauner on percussion.
Nothing was missing... At least until The Blue Danube, which sounded thin and without the miraculous grandeur to which those from Vienna have accustomed us. Especially after the taste in the mouth that he had left the day before in this emblematic Christian Thielemann piece from the Musikverein podium.
Even though it was a bit dry, it did not detract from the acoustics of the Coliseum, a room that does not usually offer classical music, and perhaps it is good to relocate cultured music and attract a more general audience. The one on Tuesday clapped his hands exultantly at the final Radetzky March, feeling like a graceful part of the Viennese event. I hope it becomes a Barcelona tradition that arouses the interest (or envy) of the Palau de la Música or the Liceu.
