It’s hard to describe what a complete success this concert was. For the first time I have heard Marin Alsop conduct a live concert. I expected superlatives. I got much better than that. She is not one to show off. She is not one to grab the spotlight. But what she does is completely professional and carefully thought out. She is such an expert at what she does that her contribution seemed transparent, shunning attention that would always be better focused on the music, itself.
With a programme like this, with a new work which has been commissioned by the orchestra from a young composer, one would expect it to be delivered with care and attention, otherwise what was the point? Hannah Eisendle’s website indicates that she is interested in music for film and theatre. Well it showed, and advantageously. In under seven minutes, Heliosis visited Bartok’s Sonata for two pianos, Shostakovich’s string tones, a touch of Rite of Spring here and there and probably much more. But this was not mere pastiche. This was musically impressionistic, a series of pictures flashing through sound to make a satisfying and surprising journey.
But what more can one say about the rest of the programme? In an age where originality is seen as an essential right, or perhaps rite, and where it is so often absent, what can an orchestra and a soloist do with two mainstays of the mainstream repertoire?
Well, one can start and finish by delivering performances that are judged, faithful and at the same time exciting, because what is on offer is of great, enduring quality. One can also fail, of course, and fall short of the possibilities that these great composers have offered. But when the conductor is Marin Alsop and the soloist is Kian Soltani then nothing less than perfection is almost guaranteed.
Schumann’s Cello Concerto is a staple of the repertoire, one of perhaps three concerti for the instrument that every cellist must learn. It is also therefore a piece whose vitality and freshness can be hard to recreate. Kian Soltani’s interpretation, however, was both vital and fresh, but also it was tense where conflict surfaced and lyrical where tenderness appeared. It was certainly far more than a mere performance of standard repertoire. Such playing reopens a listener’s interest in a work, allowing it to be approached anew, as if for the first time. It takes more than technical virtuosity to achieve that. His encore was a Ukrainian folksong with a miniature but utterly delicate orchestral commentary. It delighted everyone, not just the much-applauded resident Ukrainian contingent.
And what of Dvorak’s Seventh Symphony? Again one must be faithful to the score, but there is always great space to fall short. I always feel that the lines in Dvorak’s music should stand out. Where we start and finish as listeners in such music should feel like a journey, not a slide show. And of course Marin Alsop’s reading of the score created the momentum that drove the travel and of course the audience was totally in step.
The two encores
were similar in concept, but diverse in style. A nineteenth century romp of a
dance from the orchestra’s home city was followed by a modern parody of the
same idea, just to ensure that no-one took anything too seriously. As we had
already been reminded, there were other things happening in the world.
