BBCSSO, 12/05/2022

Bartók : The Wooden Prince

Nielsen : Symphony No. 2 "The Four Temperaments"

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Thomas Dausgaard

Two works only in tonight's concert, but large-scale in every sense, immensely colourful, and somewhat neglected; Nielsen's symphonies in general are not heard all that often, and Bartók's ballet even less so, at least in concert.

On the face of it, it's not difficult to see why.  The orchestra required is huge, and, sad to say, I suspect there were more musicians on the platform than audience in the hall.  It's a work I know best in its 1917 full ballet score form, but apparently Bartók continued to tinker with it right up until 1932, by which time he pronounced himself satisfied with the results.  I'm not familiar enough with the score to identify exactly what changed, but the end result is around ten minutes shorter than the 1917 edition, and dilutes the more romantic side of Bartók's music that is apparent in the score, in favour of something that more clearly points the way to the second, much more successful ballet, The Miraculous Mandarin, which would be written in 1926.  Either way, though, The Wooden Prince is shamefully neglected, it's a rich and beautiful score, playful and edgy, passionate and sardonic, a tapestry of vividly drawn contrasts that demonstrates Bartók's mastery of the orchestra to perfection.  

Nielsen's 2nd Symphony is all about contrasts too, in its own way.  Written in 1902, it was apparently inspired by a caricature Nielsen had seen illustrating the Ancient Greek four-temperament theory - Choleric, Phlegmatic, Melancholic and Sanguine - with each movement of the symphony depicting one of the temperaments.  There's perhaps an argument to be made that this is not so much a symphony as a suite in four movements, but Nielsen chose to designate it as a symphony, so it stands as such.  The first movement, Allegro choleric, is appropriately explosive and agitated.  Phlegmatic is a relaxed waltz, and the whole would be dominated by the emotional fervour of the slow Melancholic third movement, were it not supplanted by the rollicking jollity of the concluding Allegro sanguineo.  All of this was delivered with a fine sweep in the strings, as well as sonorous brass, and as much a sense of story-telling as had been evident in the Bartók earlier.  This was a celebration of the orchestra at its most colourful, very much worth the hearing.

[Next : 13th May]