NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra unleashes Byron's ‘Manfred’ universe

The NDR Radiophilharmonie and Stanislav Kochanovsky, principal conductor of the orchestra since the 2024/25 season, succeeded in an inimitable way in painting a portrait of the tormented Manfred's soul. His restlessness, his rebellion, his defiance, but also his wavering and despair became almost tangible. Right from the start, the image of a faltering, almost falling Manfred, who first has to struggle to get back on his feet, was conveyed.

 

Even in these first few minutes, it was clear how much Kochanovsky and the NDR Radiophilharmonie had grown together in the short time they had been playing together, how they now almost breathed as one. Under Kochanovsky, the musicians seemed to be in high spirits and radiated a joy of playing that was directly transmitted to the audience. It was clear that the chemistry was just right here. The sound of the orchestra was also striking, full of warmth and with a soft texture, without slipping into kitsch. This romantic sound is not ‘sugary’, but always has a brightness that sometimes even seems to shimmer silvery, and which is very pleasant to listen to, also because it is always accompanied by emotional bite and does not seem ‘overcontrolled’. Between Kochanovsky and the NDR Radiophilharmonie, everything ‘flowed’ in the best sense of the word yesterday evening.

 

That was a good thing, because after ‘2x Schumann’, Tchaikovsky's ‘Manfred’ symphony presented an even greater challenge. Compared to Schumann's overture, this work is more of a wide-screen epic: a powerful panorama that almost has the character of film music. And indeed, after the interval, the orchestra virtually explodes, and not just in terms of personnel. The leap from Schumann's rather austere, introverted orchestration to Tchaikovsky's colourful ‘Technicolor’ sound is enormous. The orchestra needs not only an excellent brass section, but also a conductor who can hold the structure of the symphony together so that it does not fall apart into individual parts. Kochanovsky allowed the orchestra to blossom intoxicatingly, while at the same time managing never to lose control of the architecture of the work. This is no small task in this 60-minute battle of instrumental material.

 

This Tchaikovsky was simply a delight down to the last detail. In the second movement, the NDR woodwinds played with extreme precision and vibrancy, while in the fourth movement, the brass section was able to unleash its full power without overwhelming the overall sound. In addition to the death knell, which sounded eerily from offstage in the third movement, the entrance of the organ in the finale was a spine-tingling moment. The effect in combination with the orchestra was phenomenal: not mere ‘noise’, but a religious transfiguration. From the first to the last note of this powerful symphony, there was a palpable tension on stage. [...]

 

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This concert evening was not just something to ‘listen to’; it was an immersion. In a world that is often superficial and fast-paced, this programme offered the luxury of absolute depth. The audience was able to experience a rare thematic coherence. It was like an excellently curated menu, like a ‘concept album’. At the end of the evening, there was not only long-lasting applause, but also an audience that could leave the hall with the feeling of having traversed an entire universe – that of Lord Byron.