SCO, 01/10/2021

Beethoven : Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" 

Mendelssohn : Symphony No. 34 "Scottish"

Lukas Geniušas, piano

Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Maxim Emelyanychev

As appears to be customary at the moment, with many performing arts organisations around the country, the first performances of the new season, that represent at least a partial return to something like normal, are preceded by a short address from the organisation's Chairperson/CEO/Artistic Director (delete as appropriate), which usually boils down to a heartfelt "welcome back".  it's indicative of the verve of the SCO's new Music Director that he barely gave Gavin Reid time to get off the stage, and soloist Lukas Geniušas time to sit down at the keyboard, before giving the downbeat to start the "Emperor" Concerto - and bear in mind that the pianist comes in right away, there's barely a breath before he plunges in with an extravagant, virtuoso flourish.  

There's certainly no lollygagging around with Emlyanychev at the helm, and the urgency of his reading gives Geniušas's playing something of an improvisatory feel to it, that seems, in some respects, very appropriate for Beethoven, for he was apparently an excellent improvisor.  On the other hand, I lost that sense of space, of something ineffable, that is, to me, an integral part of Beethoven's music, particularly in the slow movement, where I also missed a certain beauty of tone from the piano.  My last live 5th was with Llyr Williams, who never fails in that respect, and the slow movement tonight was a little prosaic, for my taste.  

Mendelssohn, as evidenced by his general absence from the pages of my blog, is not my favourite composer, but if I must, let it be fleet of foot and light of spirit, as this performance generally was.  Even Emlyanychev's vigour couldn't prevent the first movement from seeming intolerably long, but the Scherzo was excellent, gossamer light, while the slow movement managed to eschew the sentimentality into which Mendelssohn can so easily fall.  The SCO's winds distinguished themselves with richly coloured but elegant playing, and the horns redeemed themselves from one very ugly passage in the Beethoven with the coda of the symphony.  I fully expect the SCO to field natural horns (not to mention natural trumpets and period timps) for pretty well any piece written prior to, say, 1850, and I'm quite happy to make any number of allowances in consequence, given that the marriage of period and modern instruments is often a very delicate thing.  Tonight, however, there was a very awkward moment in the first movement of the concerto that was a bit shocking, and I was very relieved to hear that splendid blaze of sound at the end of the Mendelssohn, that seemed to stand for a triumphant return to live performance, after so long in limbo.

[Next : 4th October - streaming]