NHKSO/Gabetta/Järvi review – spirited Schumann and driving Takemitsu
Summary
Paavo Järvi’s first European tour with Tokyo’s NHK Symphony Orchestra, three years ago, featured sensitively played Takemitsu and driven, exciting Mahler. First came more Takemitsu – his Emily Dickinson-inspired work How Slow the Wind at once peaceful and restless in its shimmering repetition. Sol Gabetta’s poised playing of the solo part began in measured, thoughtful style, and had a spirited intelligence, with no empty bluster. At least as Gabetta played – and sang – her mesmerising encore, Pēteris Vasks’s Gramata cellam – Dolcissimo, there was no need to compete. The willingness of Järvi and his orchestra to push onwards in one of the most wallow-able symphonies around was gratifying, but the insistence on the underlying rhythmic drive tipped over into something that felt almost mechanical.