SCO, 20/10/2017
Bach : Brandenburg Concerto No. 1
Schumann : Piano Concerto (Javier Perianes, piano)
Haydn : Symphony No. 101 "Clock"
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Benjamin Marquise Gilmore
On hearing the news regarding tonight's concert, just a couple of days ago, Lady Bracknell came somewhat irresistibly to mind. To paraphrase; to lose the soloist, or the conductor, may be a misfortune, to lose both looks like carelessness. Such mishaps do happen, however rarely, though, so here we were with the same programme, but a new pianist, and the orchestra to be directed by its Leader.
Even though they had already played this concert the previous night in Edinburgh, it was clear that the last minute loss of their conductor (and it was Robin Ticciati who was scheduled, their Principal Conductor) had destabilised them, and the effects were all too obvious in the Bach. This was performed in very small group, not even a dozen strings, and the violins and violas standing. Normally, the smaller the number, the easier the coordination, and Bach, more than any other composer perhaps, requires the acute precision of the finest Swiss clockwork. From the moment they started, the texture was blurred, the balance off, the sound uneven, 'bulging' in places, a bumpy ride, to say the least.
The original soloist was to be Igor Levit. Now, as anyone who has dipped into the previous five years of my blog (here) will know, Schumann's not my favourite composer, but I had picked this concert precisely in the hopes that Levit, who is a highly original, occasionally idiosyncratic, and extremely gifted pianist, would be precisely the person to cast a new light on the Schumann Concerto for me, so I was rather sorry to be deprived of that experience. On the other hand, it was a pleasure to find Javier Perianes, who had greatly impressed me here three years ago (and has continued to do so when I've heard him on the radio). He's not, perhaps, the interpreter to provide the kind of revelation I had been hoping for, not in this music, but the quality of his playing is undeniable, a beautiful, singing tone, and great clarity of articulation, and the orchestral support was coherent here. As an encore, Perianes delivered a lovely, dreamily melancholic reading of Chopin's A minor Mazurka, Op 17/4.
After hearing the Bach at the start of the programme, I was a bit concerned for the Haydn, which is light-hearted and light-footed, full of quick, deft passages that also require great accuracy. However, matters were much improved here, the orchestral coordination was noticeably better, the balance almost perfect, and the playful mood of the piece well-reflected. Of course, I can't listen to this piece without thinking of Jiri Kylián's wittily delightful Symphony in D, and the bustling humour came across abundantly to bring this unusually fraught concert to a satisfactory close.
[Next : 25th October]
Schumann : Piano Concerto (Javier Perianes, piano)
Haydn : Symphony No. 101 "Clock"
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Benjamin Marquise Gilmore
On hearing the news regarding tonight's concert, just a couple of days ago, Lady Bracknell came somewhat irresistibly to mind. To paraphrase; to lose the soloist, or the conductor, may be a misfortune, to lose both looks like carelessness. Such mishaps do happen, however rarely, though, so here we were with the same programme, but a new pianist, and the orchestra to be directed by its Leader.
Even though they had already played this concert the previous night in Edinburgh, it was clear that the last minute loss of their conductor (and it was Robin Ticciati who was scheduled, their Principal Conductor) had destabilised them, and the effects were all too obvious in the Bach. This was performed in very small group, not even a dozen strings, and the violins and violas standing. Normally, the smaller the number, the easier the coordination, and Bach, more than any other composer perhaps, requires the acute precision of the finest Swiss clockwork. From the moment they started, the texture was blurred, the balance off, the sound uneven, 'bulging' in places, a bumpy ride, to say the least.
The original soloist was to be Igor Levit. Now, as anyone who has dipped into the previous five years of my blog (here) will know, Schumann's not my favourite composer, but I had picked this concert precisely in the hopes that Levit, who is a highly original, occasionally idiosyncratic, and extremely gifted pianist, would be precisely the person to cast a new light on the Schumann Concerto for me, so I was rather sorry to be deprived of that experience. On the other hand, it was a pleasure to find Javier Perianes, who had greatly impressed me here three years ago (and has continued to do so when I've heard him on the radio). He's not, perhaps, the interpreter to provide the kind of revelation I had been hoping for, not in this music, but the quality of his playing is undeniable, a beautiful, singing tone, and great clarity of articulation, and the orchestral support was coherent here. As an encore, Perianes delivered a lovely, dreamily melancholic reading of Chopin's A minor Mazurka, Op 17/4.
After hearing the Bach at the start of the programme, I was a bit concerned for the Haydn, which is light-hearted and light-footed, full of quick, deft passages that also require great accuracy. However, matters were much improved here, the orchestral coordination was noticeably better, the balance almost perfect, and the playful mood of the piece well-reflected. Of course, I can't listen to this piece without thinking of Jiri Kylián's wittily delightful Symphony in D, and the bustling humour came across abundantly to bring this unusually fraught concert to a satisfactory close.
[Next : 25th October]