Review: Andriessen Los Angeles Philharmonic premiere
January 18, 2009



Friday night, Esa-Pekka Salonen conducted the world premiere of Louis Andriessen’s “The Hague Hacking” at Walt Disney Concert Hall.  It is a glitzy 19-minute two-piano concerto written for the flamboyant French duo of Katia and Marielle Labèque....
Andriessen, who has been mentor to many younger American composers and who has created a major stylistic school in Holland, has lately clicked with the L.A. Philharmonic.  His work was a hit during the Minimalist Jukebox festival three years ago, and it looks as though a fruitful relationship with the orchestra has emerged.  Moreover, Andriessen’s latest work has taken on a depth of expression that demands more attention in the U.S.

Still, he remains feisty.  To increase his comfort level working with a symphony orchestra, he added electric and bass guitar, along with synthesizer and a healthy percussion section to the Philharmonic for “Hague Hacking.” ..
“The Hague Hacking” begins with percussive attacks by the pianists, who play throughout the score as if a single pianist with four hands.  They riff on the opening notes of Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2,” a potboiler the contrarian composer claimed not to know.  But he did admit to adoring a “Tom and Jerry cartoon that parodies the Liszt.  He also threw into the mix a drawn-out version of a popular song about the Dutch city The Hague.

Andriessen describes the concerto as essentially a toccata.  Its edges are sharp and everyone on stage Friday seemed on edge as well.  But the Labèques, fabulously dressed, were fabulous soloists, reading each other’s minds as they became a single super pianist.  Stravinsky’s prickly sound was an evident influence on the piano writing, but there were also sweetening hints of Messiaen’s harmonies in the orchestral accompaniment.  Liszt remained deconstructed throughout in this study of pinpoint pianism.
The ending was surprising.  Andriessen reaches an unusually triumphant climax -- unusual, that is, for him.  The score then ends with a hint of sentiment -– also unusual for him -- in soft string chords.

--Mark Swed