RSNO, 14/12/2019
Shostakovich : Festive Overture
Sibelius : Violin Concerto (Nicola Benedetti, violin)
Mussorgsky (orch. Ravel) : Pictures at an Exhibition
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Christian Reif
Anything Shostakovich wrote which sounds like excessive high spirits normally needs to be taken with a bit of a pinch of salt; his life, both professional and personal, was rarely less than complicated, and sarcasm, rather than genuine good humour, was more his forte. However, the Festive Overture is perhaps one of his less fraught pieces. Written apparently in great haste for a Bolshoi Theatre concert to mark the anniversary of the October Revolution in 1954, it is certainly a piece of musical propaganda - even though Stalin was now dead and millions, including Shostakovich himself, could breathe a little easier, all the apparatus was still in place to render 'uncooperative' artists' lives very uncomfortable. If the powers-that-were wanted a celebratory piece of music to mark something as perennially important as the October Revolution, then it was unwise to proffer anything else. That said, the fizzing, joyous energy of this overture feels genuine, even if Shostakovich is maybe trying it on a little with the brassily vulgar fanfares that open and close the piece, and Reif and the orchestra used it to set tonight's fireworks off with a bang.
There is no more beautiful introduction to a violin concerto than the haunting, mysterious start of Sibelius's concerto. Over whispering violins, the soloist spins a long, yearning line, lonely, half-wild, reaching for some invisible, intangible element, which it struggles with the orchestra to find throughout the first movement. The second movement is perhaps the attainment of that goal, something infinitely precious, viewed with tenderness, awe and reverence, while the last is a celebration of sorts, in a fairly defiant mode, rather than purely jubilatory. It's perfectly balanced; Sibelius had had aspirations of a career as a virtuoso violinist, and while that never materialised, he did know his instrument, as is obvious in the way the orchestra falls away when the soloist is playing in the lower registers, where it would be more easily drowned in the mass. You rarely hear the violin solo play against the upper strings except when it is at the top of its range, and the high pitch allows the sound to carry.
Nicola Benedetti's reading was not as intensely passionate as some I've heard, and Reif rather held the orchestra back a little, which is a pity, because the RSNO is and has always been very good at Sibelius, given the opportunity. However, Benedetti's exceptional range of tonal colour was on full display, and solemn introspection replaced raw passion which, in particular, produced a slow movement of a profound, trance-like stillness, which was very moving, and after which the dark-hued dance of the last movement came as a relief, as if permitting us to breathe once more.
Reif finally truly came into his own in Pictures, commencing with a superbly malevolent "Gnomus". The Ravel orchestration was vividly illustrated, with brilliant little details highlighted everywhere you chose to look. Josef Pacewicz provided a wonderfully mellow, melancholy saxophone serenade for "The Old Castle", Chris Hart's acid-bright trumpet stuttered dazzlingly for "Samuel Goldenburg and Schmuyle", and as always with Ravel, it's possible to watch the music in a way that is unique to his extraordinary sense of orchestration, so tracking the scales racing through the strings in the "Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks" only added to the humour of the piece. The hushed mystique of "Cum mortuis...", after the treacle-sombre brass chorale of the "Catacombs" was thrilling. There was only one flaw, the central section of "Baba Yaga", which was too slow and rather sagged, losing focus. but fortunately Reif redeemed himself with a grandiose "Great Gate of Kiev", in full, unabashed splendour. This was Christian Reif's first concert with the RSNO. As house debuts go, I think this was a very good one, and look forward to seeing this young German conductor again.
[This was the last concert for 2019, so Season's Greetings to you all, and the next event is 8th January]
Sibelius : Violin Concerto (Nicola Benedetti, violin)
Mussorgsky (orch. Ravel) : Pictures at an Exhibition
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Christian Reif
Anything Shostakovich wrote which sounds like excessive high spirits normally needs to be taken with a bit of a pinch of salt; his life, both professional and personal, was rarely less than complicated, and sarcasm, rather than genuine good humour, was more his forte. However, the Festive Overture is perhaps one of his less fraught pieces. Written apparently in great haste for a Bolshoi Theatre concert to mark the anniversary of the October Revolution in 1954, it is certainly a piece of musical propaganda - even though Stalin was now dead and millions, including Shostakovich himself, could breathe a little easier, all the apparatus was still in place to render 'uncooperative' artists' lives very uncomfortable. If the powers-that-were wanted a celebratory piece of music to mark something as perennially important as the October Revolution, then it was unwise to proffer anything else. That said, the fizzing, joyous energy of this overture feels genuine, even if Shostakovich is maybe trying it on a little with the brassily vulgar fanfares that open and close the piece, and Reif and the orchestra used it to set tonight's fireworks off with a bang.
There is no more beautiful introduction to a violin concerto than the haunting, mysterious start of Sibelius's concerto. Over whispering violins, the soloist spins a long, yearning line, lonely, half-wild, reaching for some invisible, intangible element, which it struggles with the orchestra to find throughout the first movement. The second movement is perhaps the attainment of that goal, something infinitely precious, viewed with tenderness, awe and reverence, while the last is a celebration of sorts, in a fairly defiant mode, rather than purely jubilatory. It's perfectly balanced; Sibelius had had aspirations of a career as a virtuoso violinist, and while that never materialised, he did know his instrument, as is obvious in the way the orchestra falls away when the soloist is playing in the lower registers, where it would be more easily drowned in the mass. You rarely hear the violin solo play against the upper strings except when it is at the top of its range, and the high pitch allows the sound to carry.
Nicola Benedetti's reading was not as intensely passionate as some I've heard, and Reif rather held the orchestra back a little, which is a pity, because the RSNO is and has always been very good at Sibelius, given the opportunity. However, Benedetti's exceptional range of tonal colour was on full display, and solemn introspection replaced raw passion which, in particular, produced a slow movement of a profound, trance-like stillness, which was very moving, and after which the dark-hued dance of the last movement came as a relief, as if permitting us to breathe once more.
Reif finally truly came into his own in Pictures, commencing with a superbly malevolent "Gnomus". The Ravel orchestration was vividly illustrated, with brilliant little details highlighted everywhere you chose to look. Josef Pacewicz provided a wonderfully mellow, melancholy saxophone serenade for "The Old Castle", Chris Hart's acid-bright trumpet stuttered dazzlingly for "Samuel Goldenburg and Schmuyle", and as always with Ravel, it's possible to watch the music in a way that is unique to his extraordinary sense of orchestration, so tracking the scales racing through the strings in the "Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks" only added to the humour of the piece. The hushed mystique of "Cum mortuis...", after the treacle-sombre brass chorale of the "Catacombs" was thrilling. There was only one flaw, the central section of "Baba Yaga", which was too slow and rather sagged, losing focus. but fortunately Reif redeemed himself with a grandiose "Great Gate of Kiev", in full, unabashed splendour. This was Christian Reif's first concert with the RSNO. As house debuts go, I think this was a very good one, and look forward to seeing this young German conductor again.
[This was the last concert for 2019, so Season's Greetings to you all, and the next event is 8th January]