Type ‘Greatest pianists in the world’ into your search engine of choice and Yuja Wang will appear high in the lists. So it was no surprise to see the Usher Hall full to bursting in anticipation of her performance this August 22nd. First on the programme was to be Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, written for Paul Wittgenstein to demonstrate his continued virtuosity after the loss of his right hand.
However, the audience, and the players of the highly regarded Oslo Philharmonic would be kept waiting a few minutes longer than usual, before Klaus Mäkelä, the orchestra’s vital 27 year old Conductor, led Yuja Wang, a vision in sparkling purple, to the waiting piano. Suffice to say, it was worth the wait.
One of the more uniquely symbiotic concertos between virtuoso and orchestra, this was a remarkable opening gambit. Wang’s left hand took the keys like with all the energy, precision, and sensitivity of Mikhail Baryshnikov, crossing the white and black expanse with muscular leaps, but caressing the more delicate passages with infinite panache. She and the orchestra fell into step so very naturally, the two feeding off each other’s abundant energy.
It’s a beautiful, and thrilling piece, rich in jazz motifs, demanding both great attention, and a sense of wild possibilities. Melodies are handed off between piano, and orchestra like friends shaking hands, as the concerto winds through lyric beauty, an almost childishly delightful march, until the jazzy themes reassert themselves to rouse the whole to a gorgeous conclusion. Bravo.
A change into a sunburst yellow gown later, and Yuja Wang returned to conclude her contributions with Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G. What a lush gift to the audience, the deeply romantic opening strains immediately familiar as an ode to George Gershin. What follows is a carnival of orchestral delights, and with Wang leading from the front, what a show the Oslo Philharmonic brought to town. BANG! goes the opening, before a wistfully beautiful ‘Adagio assai’, and a brisk, powerful, and humorous ‘Presto’ to finish.
Mäkelä is just the conductor for such an enterprise, an extroverted dancer upon the podium. It’s a mode of operation familiar to, and loved by Scottish audiences, not least due to their familiarity with the SCO’s Maxim Emelyanychev. Indeed, a celebratory atmosphere permeated orchestra, pianist and audience. Despite the audience’s best, and peristent efforts, Yuja Wang could not be cajoled into an encore, and in fairness it looked as if she left nothing in the green room by the fifth bow.
Post-Intermission, the orchestra, swelled to their monstrously full size, dispensed with Ravel, and dived deep into Shostakovich’s iconic Symphony No 5. Equipped with an instrument of almost infinite possibilities Mäkelä showed great restraint, not opening the throttle fully until a gargantuan closing section. Before that, however, the Oslo Philharmonic would conspire to create a heartbreakingly lovely ‘Largo’ or slow movement, the conductor summoning and dismissing a sensitive, surging tide of strings, and woodwind.
However, the enduring memory of the second half will be the all-guns blazing, all drums banging closing, at which point there was little to do than sit back, close your eyes, and be blown away. If the Oslo Philharmonic were on a mission to prove their world-class worth, they did so, and them some. However, once dreams of clamorous glory have faded, what will remain will be Yuja Wang’s thrilling, and fearless demonstration of a world class talent.
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