New Year's concert
★★★✩✩
Performers: Vallès Symphony Orchestra
Directed by Isabel Rubio
Place and date: Palau de la Música Catalana (XII/31/2023)
The young director Rubio and the veteran and very professional Orquestra del Vallès have given meaning and ownership to this musical proposal that is inspired by that of Vienna every year. Maybe I should incorporate little gems from our repertoire, instead of Danglas, Sullivan, Tchaikovsky, Bernstein...
This time, with a success that goes beyond the strict musical quality to settle in the terrain of a show that leaves a mark on the viewer, it leads the critics to settle in this other terrain , where not only the music, but the words with which Rubio guided the concert managed to create emotion in those who filled the room and who, at the end, applauded their hearts moved by the many ingredients at play.
From a musical perspective, it is true that Rubio shows good presence and authority on the podium, also that his gesture is not always very precise if it is a committed work - which was not the case in this program - and that the distance between description and essence has yet to be overcome. And it is very possible that he will overcome it, since management involves and needs – in addition to many other qualities – experience and self-criticism.
Works such as Johann Strauss' Waltz of the Emperor need more sensitive phrasing and less martial rhythmicity, as does the Slavic Dance no. 8 by Dvorak, which opened the program. And more than could be said, but that remains off the scene, since what reached the audience – we are already in the realm of the show – was a lot of naturalness, closeness due to Rubio's comments and impressions between works, a work excellent and commitment of the musicians, and a good ability to have achieved a very direct communication between the room and the orchestra.
The palms in polkas or at the end in Radetzky were one of the remarkable resources, and it is a credit to know how to communicate and stimulate participation naturally and sympathetically. So this Viennese remedy soon acquired a personality of its own, culminating in a choral version of Mother's Boy with orchestral strings and the rest transformed into a choir, supported by a notoriously tuned-in and also moved audience for the beauty of a tradition.
