ConcertPulse
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra / Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider
Elbphilharmonie, Großer Saal (Hamburg)
Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider has met with approval as a violinist for a long time. But in recent years, the Danish musician has also built up an impressive career as a conductor. He now swaps his violin for the »huge paintbrush«, as he calls the conductor’s baton, and can be heard on the rostrum for the first time. For his debut at the head of an orchestra, Szeps-Znaider has chosen what is perhaps the most popular symphony written by Tchaikovsky, that epitome of grand emotion and passion unleashed in music. In his Fifth Symphony, the Russian composer takes the listener from »the complete surrender to Fate« in the first movement and melodies full of effusive love in the second movement to a mood of radiant triumph in the finale. »Subito con forza!« (suddenly with force!) we want to cry when the E minor symphony’s main motif, so dark and gloomy at the outset, is transformed into a triumphant hymn in E major in the final bars. Of course, it remains a matter of opinion whether Fate itself wins the day or whether these sounds manifest the happy overcoming of all providence.
