The centrepiece of Klaus Mäkelä’s extraordinary Prom with the Oslo Philharmonic was a performance of Liszt’s First Piano Concerto with Yuja Wang as soloist: a breathtaking account of the work, virtuosic on every level, both pianistic and orchestral. Since its first performance in 1855 it has been fashionable to decry the piece as overly flamboyant, though Wang and Mäkelä revealed just how much depth there is to it, and what an impact it can make when taken seriously and properly handled.
Wang’s formidable technique and remarkable dynamic control allowed her both to hurl the opening flourishes out with terrific force and produce exquisite pianissimos in the adagio, which is sometimes described as an operatic aria without words and structured round one of Liszt’s most beautiful melodies. The scherzo was filigree-light, the martial finale propulsively energetic without a trace of pomposity. Finding an underlying unity in disparity, Mäkelä made perfect sense of the score’s stylistic veering between almost Wagnerian weight and an airy brilliance that derives from the French music of the time. It was all something of a revelation, even to those like myself who are fond of the work.
