BY JANELLE GELFAND
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Think Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 and you think percussive. Brilliant. It is so fiendishly difficult that it is beyond the grasp of many virtuosos. But not Barry Douglas.
A frequent guest with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Irish-born pianist nearly ignited the keyboard in a thrilling performance of Prokofiev's C Major Concerto with the CSO Friday night. Although he is a technical phenomenon, this was no feat of empty virtuosity. Mr. Douglas is one of the most intelligent and musically adept pianists around.
His bigger-than-life sound matched that of the orchestra effortlessly, and he captured the overall scope of this big work wonderfully. With Jesus Lopez-Cobos conducting, the first movement's tempo leaned toward the frantic, although Mr. Douglas created glittering color and played with strong musical personality.
That he is also a musician of depth and poetry was evident in the second movement, where his sonorities were at times breathtaking. He dispatched the diabolical leaps and octaves of the finale with flair, all the while breathing life into its melodies, and eliciting cheers from the crowd of 2,029.
A considerably less distinguished reading took place in Brahms' Symphony No. 2 in the second half. Mr. Lopez-Cobos reached a new level of mediocrity in the excruciatingly slow tempos he chose and the colorless playing he inspired. The work was plagued by bobbles in the horns and out-of-tune winds. But mainly because tempos were so plodding, there was a lack of forward impetus and the orchestra's playing was labored.
The first movement's development section sounded like a machine shop, despite Mr. Lopez-Cobos' rigid beat. In the adagio, the winds and strings were at odds from the onset; here Mr. Lopez-Cobos beat was vague. He failed to exploit the rich sound of the strings, which sounded muted.
In the third movement, the winds should sparkle, but they lacked charm. The brass-filled finale was the most successful, but even that was reserved and lacked the spontaneity, tautness and accuracy of which this orchestra is capable.
The evening opened with the neo-romantic, lush sounds of Barber's First Essay for Orchestra. The program repeats at 8 p.m. today. Tickets: 381-3300.
