The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra did not impress in Glinka's
Ruslan & Lyudmila overture. The violins, in particular,
lacked brilliance of tone and Yakov Kreizberg smoothed out the
rhythmic and dynamic variety of the piece leaving us with a rather
dull account of this colourful score.
Arcadi Volodos began Rachmaninov's lengthy Piano Concerto No. 3 rather
cautiously and the opening allegro felt a little underpowered,
though there was no doubting his command of the work. Fortunately, by
now the orchestra seemed to have found their feet and provided
sympathetic accompaniment. After a calm and and uneventful
intermezzo, the finale burst into life and crackled with energy
through to the close. Arcadi Volodos pulled out all the stops here,
and there was no lack of weighty support from the orchestra (the
punchy exchanges with the soloist towards the end were especially well
executed). Overall, a highly enjoyable and satisfying performance,
where the musical continuity of the work took precedence over
barnstorming showmanship.
Franz Schmidt's Fourth Symphony was a new work to me, and this was an impressive
introduction to its many qualities. The Bournemouth Symphony
Orchetsra saved their best playing of the night for this piece and the
arching structure of the whole (the four movements were played without
a break) was conveyed with great clarity. Sounding almost Mahlerian
at times, the music moved seamlessly from the solo trumpet opening to
a climax of considerable force as the first movement gave way to the
second, in which a beautifully serene, melodic mood (with some
deliciously yearning solo cello work) was interrupted by a much
darker, menacing episode before returning subtly altered in tone. The
final two movements formed a continous sequence of turbulent music
leading eventually to another massive climax which died away to leave
us with the solo trumpet with which we had begun. A fine performance
of a powerful, moving symphony which I'm keen to hear many more times!
Prom 70
(1998)
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7.30pm
- Wednesday, 9th September,
1998
- Royal Albert Hall