The concert of the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) is one of the most beautiful traditions of Young Euro Classic and invariably attracts a full concert hall. Year after year, the ensemble brings together young musicians from the 27 EU member states, selected from thousands of candidates. Under conductors such as Bernard Haitink, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Ivan Fischer, the EUYO has built a reputation that far exceeds that of an ordinary youth orchestra. Under the direction of Elim Chan and with Spanish violinist María Dueñas as soloist, the ensemble confirmed this reputation on Monday, August 3 at the Konzerthaus Berlin, although the qualities of the two programme halves differed remarkably.
Refined orchestra, mixed impression
The concert opened with the beloved Violin Concerto by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), a work that makes high demands on both soloist and orchestra. The EUYO immediately demonstrated how intensively the ensemble playing had been rehearsed: the orchestral sound was beautifully balanced, the different sections listened carefully to each other and the numerous solo passages were performed with great subtlety. Yet the first movement initially sounded somewhat reserved; the orchestra seemed reluctant to put its full weight into play, something that quickly changed in the subsequent passages when the young musicians were given more space to show their power and playing pleasure.
María Dueñas undoubtedly possesses impressive technique, which was evident, among other things, from the cadenza she wrote herself. Personally, I found it somewhat long-winded: the virtuosity was certainly there, but the musical arc of tension did not entirely hold my attention. Later on, my appreciation of her interpretation remained somewhat ambiguous. Her playing was accurate and her tone beautiful, but it did not touch me sufficiently in terms of content.
The orchestra gradually came more to the fore. Especially in the slow section, the clarity of the ensemble playing stood out. The horns and woodwinds sounded impeccably clean, with above all a phenomenal oboe solo that held the hall spellbound. Brahms was taken at a broad tempo, perhaps even too broad for my taste, but precisely because of this, the acceleration towards the end became all the more striking. The finale too gained a nice freedom after a daring pause before the entry, with soloist and orchestra visibly surrendering to the music and the pleasure of playing together becoming palpable.
A completely different side of Dueñas showed itself in the restrained Das kleine Mädchen singt, a traditional Norwegian song, noted by Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935). In this encore there was no bravura: with a simple, warm intensity, she touched me deeply with this song.
Beyond themselves
After the interval, the atmosphere changed completely. With the Second Symphony by Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943), the large EUYO demonstrated what it was capable of. From the very first dark string tones of the first movement, it was clear that we were in for something special. The threatening opening acquired great intensity without Elim Chan pushing the music prematurely towards a climax. That expectation was more than fulfilled in the course of the symphony.
What was particularly striking was the transparency of the orchestral sound. Despite the extensive instrumentation and the rich, often overlapping orchestration, almost every detail remained audible. The various solos were also performed excellently. Chan kept both the overall architecture and the smallest details in view, allowing the many voices in the score to find their place without the whole losing its coherence.
The second movement was played briskly, with a good ear for lyrical details. The music kept moving and breathing throughout, without getting bogged down in excessive romantic breadth. The third movement was the moment when this performance truly transcended itself. The music grew slowly towards its climax, and the carefully calculated acceleration seemed at a certain point to be no longer merely musical: it was as if the heart began to beat faster, which it probably did for many a concert-goer as well. It was precisely in this buildup that Chan demonstrated her great command of the orchestra: nowhere did she force the tension, but steadily increased it until the resolution became inevitable.
A moment of rest was also allowed for the finale. After that, the music burst forth with energy and playing pleasure. Rachmaninov certainly did not spare his orchestra and at times seems to want to overwhelm it with an abundance of notes, but Chan knew how to perfectly channel even this musical excess. The different lines remained audible and the finale gained enormous momentum and conviction. The young musicians played with a precision that remained constantly in service of expression and with a playing pleasure that effortlessly carried the hall along.
It was truly an astonishing performance. Where Brahms primarily showcased the quality of the orchestra, with Rachmaninov all the pieces fell into place: the enormous orchestra, the technical mastery, the subtle solos, the feeling for detail, the grand lines of the buildup and especially the shared breath with which this young ensemble gave shape to the symphony. Young Euro Classic wants to give young musicians a platform and at the same time show what future classical music has in Europe. The EUYO made that ambition more than come true this evening.
The exuberant applause was nicely followed by Nimrod from the Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar (1857-1934). The orchestra played the work with restraint and long breath and offered precisely the peace needed after the enormous emotional release of Rachmaninov. A restrained farewell to the music, but far from the end of the evening.
Musical celebration
Then something happened that was at least as endearing as the exceptional performance itself. The orchestra stood up and the young musicians began playfully walking through each other, while Amparito Roca by Jaime Texidor (1884-1957) provided a catchy musical conclusion. The musicians visibly shared their playing pleasure with each other and with the hall. Elim Chan also let herself be drawn into the musical celebration. It was a spontaneous and disarming conclusion to a concert in which these young European musicians not only demonstrated their technical level, but especially how much pleasure they derive from making music together.