SCO, 13/05/2022

Beethoven : Leonora Overture No. 3

Prokofiev : Violin Concerto No. 1 (Alina Ibragimova, violin)

Stravinsky : The Firebird - Suite (1945)

Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Maxim Emelyanychev

The SCO's final concert of the season was clearly intended to be a bit of a barn-stormer from the outset, starting with a rousing interpretation of Beethoven's Leonora III, the proposed overture for Fidelio that was ultimately rejected because it was just too good.  Emelyanychev threw himself into it - almost literally - with his customary vigour, transmitted easily to the orchestra.  He doesn't conduct from a podium, but from the floor level with the orchestra, and well advanced into its normal space, so that the strings curve around him, rather than line up in front, and it gives an impression of immediacy of connection and contact between conductor and players that is rare, and particularly emotive.  The more vibrant the music, the more intense the connection, and the Beethoven certainly benefitted from it, yet without sacrificing those moments of stillness Beethoven always needs.

Alina Ibragimova was an ideal interpreter for the Prokofiev, her ability to spin long, flawless threads of sound perfect for the ethereal music of the outer movements, but also with sufficient muscularity for the manic scherzo.  The orchestra provided fine support, with a particularly eloquent flute solo from Daniel Pailthorpe at the start of the first movement. 

Playing Firebird at all, even in this, its most 'reduced' format, certainly pushes the boundaries of the orchestra's physical capabilities.  Although the 1945 Suite is more or less written for standard orchestra, Stravinsky was thinking of a symphony orchestra, and not a chamber one, with six or seven desks of 1st violins, as opposed to the four on-stage tonight, and so on through the ranks of the strings.  That said, Stravinsky's writing is such that the strings are rarely in flat-out competition with the massed winds and brass (which would, normally, drown them out), and are often used to give a texture to the music, a silken sheen, or a diaphanous shimmer, to add magic and mystery to the moment.  

Listening to the Firebird Suite, I realised it's been quite a while since I've really heard any of the Suites, I'm more used to listening to the complete ballet these days, to the point that the cuts in the music were more than a little jarring.  That threw me out of the mood every so often, through no fault of the performers.  However, on the whole, Emelyanychev and the SCO delivered a suitably atmospheric performance.  The Khorovod was a little rushed to my taste, there's a ritual feel to this round-dance that gets lost if it's taken too quickly, but the Infernal Dance was suitably exhilarating, and the build from the Dawn music to the General Rejoicing was very nicely handled to bring the evening to a radiant conclusion.

[Next : 14th May]