“This was a genuinely fresh approach to the Bruckner symphony”

Editorial Rating: 4 Stars: Nae Bad

The publicity for Thursday’s SCO gig at the Usher Hall intrigued me. I am a junkie for late Romantic music and for me the period 1850-1950 is the most exciting in classical music. Richard Strauss and Anton Bruckner are among my favourite composers and the SCO under conductor Robin Ticciati is approaching world class status. But a Chamber Orchestra playing a Bruckner symphony? This was something that had to be experienced.

I was pretty certain the SCO could bring off the Oboe Concerto by Richard Strauss. It is a beautiful work that sits comfortably within the Chamber genre, completely in contrast with his earlier works or subsequent dramatic Four Last Songs; so it is a bit of a one-off. The whole piece sat together well, the orchestra demonstrating real fluency of playing in support of the very demanding solo part. Ramon Ortega Quero handled the extraordinarily long passages (no less than 57 solo bars in the opening sequence) with sub aquatic breathing skill and faultless phrasing, and coaxed a beautiful tone out of his difficult instrument. Forgive me, but I could not help but remember my mother telling a story of a young oboist she went out with at university. His lips, as demonstrated in his kissing, were of a muscular versatility not since experienced. One of the benefits no doubt of a super competent embouchure.

We were treated to a thoroughly polished, relaxed performance of a rather intimate work that in particular demonstrated fine string playing and a conductor getting all that he wanted from his band with minimal apparent effort.

But the real test was to come.

What happens when a chamber orchestra tackles an orchestral behemoth? Ticciati has gone on record as saying “We need to scrape back the veneers” and “reveal the work in new colours”. This they did, although I do concede that the orchestra was beefed up to maximum strength. What they brought to Bruckner’s 4th Symphony was an astonishing clarity along with a seemingly relaxed approach that allowed the music to speak for itself, rather than  suffering the relentless drive of some other conductors. Ticciati’s body language and general demeanour suggested he could have been conducting Haydn or Mozart. So relaxed!

An eerie, breathtaking entry by the double basses in the Bewegt nicht zu schell followed by the winsome horn solo morphed into our first treat of full-on Bruckner brass. Ticciati, restrained, holding back, but not quite teasing, built the perfect climax. I have rarely heard such delicacy or clarity in orchestral Bruckner. Clever stuff!

The Andante, quasi allegretto gave us another very gentle pianissimo opening leading to the violas taking up the theme supported by pizzicato violins and cellos. We were being reminded of the SCO’s impeccable chamber orchestra credentials. There soon followed some of the best brass passages ever written and towards the end we were at last in “wild Bruckner” territory with the whole orchestra playing in apparent wilful abandon, but in fact right on the button, until we returned to a reflective pizzicato coda.

In the Sherzo; Bewegt haunting brass led us off with some very clean playing ending in a resounding conclusion.

Finally the Finale of the fourth movement: again, Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell. After another plaintive horn call there was no shortage of brass and then the full orchestra gave us everything we wanted and took us home. I am delighted to report that the Usher Hall audience did not burst into applause immediately but waited until Ticciati had lowered his hand after some ten seconds, and gave him four curtain calls.

So the experiment worked. This was a genuinely fresh approach to the Bruckner symphony. I got clarity, freshness and an unstrained, natural and not too over intense approach that let the music speak for itself. Now, perhaps, for the same approach to the more difficult 6^th or 8^th.

Reviewer: Charles Stokes (Seen 3 November)

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“Overall, an evening of first class playing and sheer joy.  The bar for the rest of the season has been set high”

Editorial Rating: 4 Stars:  Nae Bad

A steady swarm of eager concertgoers approached the Usher Hall and filled its bars, stairwells and ultimately seats on Friday night for the RSNO’s opening concert of their 2016/17 season. Effectively it was a full house, with almost all the choir stalls taken. Either way, the joint was heaving.

The star attraction was, of course, the superlative Nicola Benedetti with whom the city and Orchestra feel a strong affiliation, which she charmingly reciprocated in a short speech at the end of her bravura performance. This notwithstanding, the programme itself was a romantic blockbuster designed to pack them in, though the choice of starter was open to question.

Like a gourmet meal, there is a growing tendency in concerts to serve up an amuse bouche before the appetiser, and on this occasion the band put on Khachaturian’s Waltz from Masquerade as a four minute intro. Whilst undoubtedly Khachaturian stands comparison with Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov as a Romantic composer and fellow Russian (albeit Georgian) this was by no means a romantic work, and frankly served the rest of the programme ill, getting us in the wrong frame of mind altogether. Charmingly rather galumphing and of the fairground genre, it needed more power from the strings and less from the brass and did little for us.

Then came Nicola in a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto , supported by the discipline and control of Peter Oundjian, and the excellent, well-balanced and complementary playing of the orchestra, that forced me to reappraise my entire attitude to this work several notches upwards. Never a grande oeuvre such as the Beethoven or Brahms, or as lush as the Bruch, the Tchaikovsky has always sat in my mind along the lighter end of the scale, like the Mendelssohn. Played as well as it was on the night, this concerto can take its place among the greats. Why? The limitations of the work remain -“a little showy” being a common criticism – but it was the playing that effected the transition. Benedetti’s long melodic lines, crystal clarity even playing in the highest of positions, and sheer ability to bring out the all the detail and nuances brought greater insight of the work than I have heard before. The orchestra gave a perfect, accurate and empathetic accompaniment, with excellent woodwind and brass in particular.

It was in Rachmaninov’s Symphony No2 that the strings really came into their own in a performance that was never self indulgent nor schmaltzy, but considered, well executed and disciplined so that unlike the Tchaikovsky the music spoke for itself. And what music! The first two movements are in fact quite complex as various themes develop, all of which were well handled, as the tension builds and is eventually rewarded with the fabulous, soaring third movement Adagio. A skilfully disciplined slow build-up under the iron grip of Oundjian held it all together brilliantly until the grand theme was unleashed, and here again not over done, but deeply moving with quite exceptional playing, feeling and discipline working hand in hand. Too often the final Allegro Vivace is frankly a bit of an anti climactic chore that one has to endure to round off the symphony, but  even at the end of a demanding night the RSNO really got into it and gave the movement a vivacity and brio I have rarely heard: glorious brass, hectic strings, all heading towards a spendidly exotic conclusion in the full romantic vein. Overall, an evening of first class playing and sheer joy. The bar for the rest of the season has been set high. Bring it on!

Reviewer: Charles Stokes (Seen 7 October)

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