Even the third encore couldn't stop the applause: Polina Osetinskaya brings Bach to life anew

With her lighthearted and playful playing of Bach, pianist Polina Osetinskaya brought all the effortless energy of this music to the keys, energizing both the orchestra and the audience for encores.  Such enthusiasm for Baroque music hadn't been heard in Hamburg for a long time!

Polina Osetinskaya, piano;
Chamber Orchestra of the New Philharmonic Hamburg
Works by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Johann Sebastian Bach and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Laeiszhalle Hamburg, April 24, 2024

A boundless enthusiasm sweeps through the Laeiszhalle when pianist Polina Osetinskaya brings her Bach to the stage! Full of enthusiasm and brisk energy, she throws herself into the piano concertos originally written for harpsichord, and the Hamburg New Philharmonic sweeps her away into the wonderful world of this music. The bass line runs like clockwork, upon which she lets the melody dance. Even 300 years after its creation, this music remains timelessly brilliant and powerfully fills the Laeiszhalle audience with joyful anticipation.

Some Baroque fans describe their favorite genre as a bit like pop music. This was certainly evident today, as Ms. Osetinskaya coaxed a light and airy Baroque drive from the keys of Shigeru Kawai's wonderfully resonant grand piano, bringing the audience to the brink of tapping their feet. Yet she never lost sight of the ethereal lightness of the melodies; a fresh, spring-like atmosphere permeated the music. The perfect music to unwind and lift your spirits after a stressful workday…

With a brief gesture to the audience and orchestra, the pianist introduced the Piano Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052, where she really let loose and captivated the audience. It was like a musical pleasure train speeding joyfully across a green meadow on a sunny Sunday. She has complete mastery of the instrument and knows how to coax the lighthearted, playful energy of this music from the grand piano, which in Bach's time was still a distant dream. Equally wonderful followed: the Piano Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056, for Piano, Strings, and Basso Continuo.

Oh yes, she also played three encores. I've only ever seen that before with Martha Argerich, who – incidentally, also in this venerable concert hall, which unfortunately now ranks second in the Hanseatic city – casually launched into Prokofiev's Precipitato after Beethoven's First Piano Concerto. It was practically an extra concert after the main program. The enthusiastic and loud shouts of "Brava!" just wouldn't stop, even after the third encore. Well, this musical bliss can't last forever, unfortunately…

After the intermission came Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings. A wonderful, passionate work in its own right, whose power the Chamber Orchestra of the New Hamburg Philharmonic brought to life in the Laeiszhalle.

The musicians, under the direction of concertmaster Tigran Mikaelyan, brought the full sonic magic of their instruments to life once again with a wonderfully clear performance of the well-known Bach orchestral aria. This is how you truly make even this almost overplayed encore hit shine!

The crown of the evening therefore went to Bach's music… and Polina Osetinskaya's feather-light, fun piano magic.
There hasn't been this much enthusiasm for Baroque music in Hamburg for a long time!

Johannes Karl Fischer for klassik-begeistert.de and klassik-begeistert.at

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