SCO, 02/02/2018
Prokofiev : Symphony No. 1 "Classical"
Shostakovich : Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a
Beethoven : Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" (Elisabeth Leonskaja, piano)
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Clemens Schuldt
The first half of tonight's concert was an interesting study in contrasts, works from arguably the two greatest Russian composers of the last century, but utterly contrasted. The first, a joyous work by a young composer at the start of a career that held every promise, with a fistful of piano works, three or four concertos, and a couple of operas already under his belt; the second, a deeply personal reflection by a man angered and embittered by his circumstances, yet managing to create despite the metaphoric shackles placed upon him.
Clemens Schuldt began the "Classical" at a relatively leisurely pace which, after an initial period of adjustment, I appreciated for the highlights it brought to the orchestration, touches of colour (mostly in the winds) that can speed by too fast, little zesty snippets of the orchestration. Also, it meant that the orchestra was not obliged to scramble madly in the last movement, which becomes necessary if the first movement is taken too quickly from the outset.
Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony is an arrangement of his 8th String Quartet, possibly the best known of his fifteen quartets. It was arranged for string orchestra by Rudolph Barshai, violist of the Borodin Quartet, with the approval of the composer, and is sometimes known as his Sinfonietta. The 8th Quartet is an intensely autobiographical work; the all-pervasiveness of Shostakovich's musical signature, D-S-C-H, and the numerous self-quotations leave that in no doubt. He was, at the time of composition, profoundly depressed, and it comes through in the bleak hues and grimacing humour. Barshai's arrangement loses nothing of the original mood, the expansion to full strings enriches the sound quality of the piece without diluting its expression, and conductor and orchestra served it well.
Elisabeth Leonskaja is Soviet-era and Moscow-trained, a type of pianist of which there are not many left on the international circuits, not at this level of performance. As you'd expect from a pianist with those credentials, her Beethoven is big and powerful, commanding without being flashy, but a warm, full sound, surprisingly heavily pedalled, though never to the point of blurring. Her stage presence is equally commanding, your attention can never stray from her for long, which can be a little hard on the orchestra because there were interesting things happening there too.
The problem, I think, is that Schuldt was perhaps not the ideal conductor to strike a balance between a soloist interpreting Beethoven in a slightly old-fashioned way (and that is not meant remotely pejoratively), and an orchestra which, while certainly not a period band, has adapted continuously over the decades to current period practice. It was Schuldt's job to find a way to meld the two, and he never quite pulled it off, the most noticeable difficulty being in a myriad of not-quite-together commencements or conclusions of phrases. Just a hairsbreadth, admittedly, but audible, and far too many for comfort. So while there were was much to admire, from Leonskaja's absolute focus of vision and strong hands, and from various elements in the SCO in turn, the whole was not quite the sum of its parts. However, that did not diminish the pleasure of experiencing the maestria of such a notable artist as Elisabeth Leonskaja.
[Next : 3rd February]
Shostakovich : Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a
Beethoven : Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" (Elisabeth Leonskaja, piano)
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Clemens Schuldt
The first half of tonight's concert was an interesting study in contrasts, works from arguably the two greatest Russian composers of the last century, but utterly contrasted. The first, a joyous work by a young composer at the start of a career that held every promise, with a fistful of piano works, three or four concertos, and a couple of operas already under his belt; the second, a deeply personal reflection by a man angered and embittered by his circumstances, yet managing to create despite the metaphoric shackles placed upon him.
Clemens Schuldt began the "Classical" at a relatively leisurely pace which, after an initial period of adjustment, I appreciated for the highlights it brought to the orchestration, touches of colour (mostly in the winds) that can speed by too fast, little zesty snippets of the orchestration. Also, it meant that the orchestra was not obliged to scramble madly in the last movement, which becomes necessary if the first movement is taken too quickly from the outset.
Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony is an arrangement of his 8th String Quartet, possibly the best known of his fifteen quartets. It was arranged for string orchestra by Rudolph Barshai, violist of the Borodin Quartet, with the approval of the composer, and is sometimes known as his Sinfonietta. The 8th Quartet is an intensely autobiographical work; the all-pervasiveness of Shostakovich's musical signature, D-S-C-H, and the numerous self-quotations leave that in no doubt. He was, at the time of composition, profoundly depressed, and it comes through in the bleak hues and grimacing humour. Barshai's arrangement loses nothing of the original mood, the expansion to full strings enriches the sound quality of the piece without diluting its expression, and conductor and orchestra served it well.
Elisabeth Leonskaja is Soviet-era and Moscow-trained, a type of pianist of which there are not many left on the international circuits, not at this level of performance. As you'd expect from a pianist with those credentials, her Beethoven is big and powerful, commanding without being flashy, but a warm, full sound, surprisingly heavily pedalled, though never to the point of blurring. Her stage presence is equally commanding, your attention can never stray from her for long, which can be a little hard on the orchestra because there were interesting things happening there too.
The problem, I think, is that Schuldt was perhaps not the ideal conductor to strike a balance between a soloist interpreting Beethoven in a slightly old-fashioned way (and that is not meant remotely pejoratively), and an orchestra which, while certainly not a period band, has adapted continuously over the decades to current period practice. It was Schuldt's job to find a way to meld the two, and he never quite pulled it off, the most noticeable difficulty being in a myriad of not-quite-together commencements or conclusions of phrases. Just a hairsbreadth, admittedly, but audible, and far too many for comfort. So while there were was much to admire, from Leonskaja's absolute focus of vision and strong hands, and from various elements in the SCO in turn, the whole was not quite the sum of its parts. However, that did not diminish the pleasure of experiencing the maestria of such a notable artist as Elisabeth Leonskaja.
[Next : 3rd February]