THE ‘MAGIC’ OF ALBRECHT MAYER’S OBOE

Albrecht Mayer (oboe, English horn and director), Vancouver Symphony Orchestra: Music of Haydn, Mozart and Fiala, Chan Centre, October 25, 2019.

Following on the leads of legendary flutist James Galway and clarinetist Karl Leister, oboist Albrecht Mayer is the latest member of the Berlin Philharmonic’s wind section to pursue a full-fledged career as a soloist. Over the past decade, he has recorded five theme-based CDs for Deutsche Grammophon, highlighting oboe compositions on the classical/ baroque boundary, mingling with more delectable shorter pieces. In the current VSO concert, he also added his skills as a conductor. There is always an abiding pleasantness to an oboe concert, and that is what one felt here. As witnessed in the Haydn (attr.) and Fiala concertos, Mayer is a wonderfully refined and tonally pleasing exponent of both the oboe and English horn, wrapping his effortless virtuosity in great beauty. Alongside his purity of line and crisp agility, it is the creamy, mellifluous quality of Mayer’s tone which frequently stands out, possibly registering some debt to his Berlin Phil predecessor Lothar Koch and his teacher Maurice Bourgue.

The Haydn Oboe Concerto has long held a place in the repertory; one might recall the original Rothwell/ Barbirolli and Hanták/ Newstone recordings in the 1960s. At that time, the work was indeed listed as an authentic Haydn composition, yet the assertive trumpet-and-drums style of its opening movement always struck me as not fitting Haydn’s concerto style. It wasn’t surprising when it came to light that the work was not by Haydn, but possibly Malzat or Stamitz. In any event, Mayer’s oboe playing was a delight throughout, very fluent and cheery, full of virtuoso grace and dynamic contrast, but not skimping on the gravity of the minor key modulations. One noticed some interesting ornamentation in the Andante and here the playing had a smooth, plush elegance. Throughout, one marveled at the precision and point of his runs, especially in the softer passages.

If there was a qualification, it was the heaviness and squareness of the orchestral contribution, which focussed on structural emphasis (at cautious tempos) rather than rhythmic buoyancy. Mayer performed the work play/direct, conducting mainly in the tuttis, so perhaps one should not expect perfection, especially with an orchestra of over 40 players. Mayer’s recordings thus far have involved mainly smaller orchestras, including one with the ‘authentic’ English Concert on Decca. There, one might have worried about the matching of a modern oboe with an authentic troupe; here the matching of the oboe with modern forces was in line, but the textures seemed a little ample.

The slighter concerto by Josef Fiala was more to scale, and revealed that Mayer’s English horn virtuosity is indistinguishable from his finesse on the oboe. The performance was a pleasure: there was tastefulness and balance throughout, and the highlight was the Adagio cantabile, where concertmaster Nicholas Wright’s affecting violin joins in. One also noticed some intriguing tonguing techniques in the finale. The limpid legato lines of a new Bach cantata arrangement enshrined the encore.

As a maestro, Mayer showed that he is very conscientious in establishing rhythmic solidity and in detailing, especially with the winds. But perhaps slightly too much so: the excessive care in execution actually reminded me of another exalted wind player, the (late) Frans Brüggen, when he was first finding his legs as a conductor in the early 1980s. Thus, in Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte Overture, the conductor devoted considerable attention to the string accents while bringing out wind blends in a way that reminded one of the composer’s great Serenades, but the approach ended up too smooth and deliberate to generate much frisson. Haydn’s ‘Surprise’ Symphony certainly aimed for more dramatic character: the music was pared almost to inaudibility before the loud ‘surprise’ in the famous Andante, and the dance rhythms in the Menuetto were given unusual colour, though with some extended rallentandi. However, in spite of some teasing string and wind textures, the deliberation and weight in the first movement made the progress of the Vivace assai seem sectionalized, not moved compulsively forward by the work’s flow of delight. This was big-boned, considered Haydn: bigger than Otto Klemperer’s, I thought. Cohesion was probably best achieved in the finale, which allowed more of the work’s zest and spirit to spring forth spontaneously.

All qualifications aside, this was a most pleasant evening with a master of two very difficult instruments, and some fine playing from the VSO.

© Geoffrey Newman 2019

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