In the penultimate concert of a Festival in which there is once again Martha Argerich the generous hostess who presents different menus to the Buenos Aires publicThursday evening, at the Teatro Colón, it was his turn to listen, together with a local orchestra, to one of the young pianists of which he is a sponsor, the South Korean Dong Hyek Lim.

Known for years in Buenos Aires (in 2017 he offered a recital at the CCK that inexplicably went unnoticed) and with the triumph of his performance the night before to support him, the performer entered with an air of security and ready to face in every way one of the most demanding pieces of the repertoire: the Concerto for piano and orchestra n. B flat Tchaikovsky minor, together with the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Enrique Arturo Diemecke.

Dong Hyek Lim’s piano qualities are beyond question: his enormous technical background allows him to realize his ideas with ease, and his sensitivity is indisputable and without exaggerating.

And, last but not least, his programs within his mentor’s Festival are irrefutable proof of a versatility which allows him to pass from the autumn Schubert to the Saint-Saëns jokes (on Saturday he will share with Argerich The carnival of the animals at the end of the cycle) or, as in this case, avoiding the infinite difficulties of Tchaikovsky’s first concert.

An uncomfortable triangulation

After the introduction of the horns, the opening chords of the piano sounded pompous and promising; however, soon the pianist began to show a more dangerous than desirable rubato, and from then on it was clear that the triangulation between soloist, conductor and orchestra should at least be uncomfortable.

On the other hand it is one of the most difficult concerts to arrange in the romantic repertoire: it is full of rhythmic traps for piano and orchestra, and its beauty it flows only with the perfect relationship between the three parts.

During the whole work it was possible to observe a particularly careful work by Diemecke and a total concentration of the members of the Philharmonic. But, while everyone was focused on following the soloist, he, barely in eye contact with his partners, showed little interest in getting the performance back on track, insisting on some times exaggeratedly fast which did not help ease the tension.

As expected, Dong Hyek Lim, applauded furiously by a crowded and enthusiastic hall (with a young average age, thanks to the policy of selling tickets at 200 pesos for under 35s that the Colón has implemented for these concerts and which would be desirable continue ), shone in the unscheduled work: an intimate version, full of color and sharpness in the lines of a beautiful page by Tchaikovsky: Fallfrom Seasonsthe series of twelve characteristic pieces opus 37a.

After the break it was the turn of the Philharmonic and Diemecke (a musical “marriage” that in almost a decade and a half has experienced happy moments but also great disagreementsespecially in recent times) will perform Dvorak’s Eighth Symphony.

The version, solid, with some relief but generally smooth and coherent, was preceded by an introduction in which the Mexican director provided some information on the work (humorously delimiting that he was wasting his time while there were still people entering the room. ) and warned the unsuspecting public about the ritual that marks the dispensation from applause between the movements.

He also congratulated them for not bursting into applause after the thunderous first movement of Tchaikovsky’s concert.

As if it were an irony, this warning was enough because in the pause between the first and second movements of the symphony some palms will explode, to which Diemecke replied by extending his left arm, saying “no” with his finger and indicating that the second of the four parts was coming; Despite this, the stumbling block repeated itself between the second and third movements.

Beyond everything (and unlike the blurring that other artists may show in the face of this fact, and which only adds to the tension), Diemecke continued with the interpretation, which ended in the festive atmosphere that surrounds the Argerich Festival.

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Algerian festival

Qualification: Good

interpreters: Dong Hyek Lim (piano), Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra. Director: Henri Arturo Diemecke Theater: Columbus, Thursday, August 18.

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