Yan Pascal Tortelier & Iceland Symphony Orchestra's 70th birthday tour reaches London with Yeol Eun Son in Ravel and Anna Thorvaldsdottir's riveting Aeriality

Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Yan Pascal Tortelier and Iceland Symphony Orchestra (Photo Iceland Symphony Orchestra)

Bizet, Ravel, Thorvaldsdottir, Prokofiev; Yeol Eum Son, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Yan Pascal Tortelier; Cadogan Hall
Reviewed by Colin Clarke on 10 February 2020 Star rating: 3.5 (★★★½)
Iceland Symphony Orchestra's first UK tour brings a dazzling performance from pianist Yeol Eum Son and a riveting, magnificent piece by Anna Thorvaldsdottir

The Iceland Symphony Orchestra's 70th birthday tour of the UK (its first UK tour) reached London's Cadogan Hall on Monday 10 February 2020 when, under conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier, they played Bizet's L’Arlésienne, Ravel's Concerto for the Left Hand, with soloist Yeol Eum Son, and a selection from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, plus Anna Thorvaldsdottir's Aeriality.

It must be Bizet season in London, what with ENO’s Carmen over at the Coliseum and now a sizeable selection of music from the Suites to Bizet’s L’Arlésienne. Quite a way from the red-blooded passion of Carmen, L’Arlésienne is full of charming but undemanding music. The Iceland Symphony Orchestra, known through their recordings for BIS, is a fine if not exceptional orchestra. The sax player, Sigurdur Flosason made a strong impression (as he did in the final Prokofiev). While the Iceland SO might not have the most burnished sound (the strings in the ‘Minuetto’ were a tad harsh on the ear), they make up for it in characterisation; and the string control at the end of the Adagietto was perfect. The bright and brash finale (the ’Farandole’) brought this extended, five-movement starter to a close.

Yeol Eum Son and Iceland Symphony Orchestra (Photo Benjamin Ealovega)

South Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son distinguished herself at the Thirteenth Van Cliburn Competition in 2009, wherein she came second to a tied first place of Nobiyuki Tsukii and Haichen Zhang (no third prize was awarded). Her Harmonia Mundi disc as a result of that featured a Haydn Sonata, Barber’s Piano Sonata, Debussy’s first book of Préludes and a Godowsky Metamorphosis (on Fledermaus). That this took place a few years ago and her name is still not on everyone’s lips (at least not in the UK) seems a shame, as this was a performance of Ravel’s Left-Hand Concerto of great strength, phenomenal (left-hand) technique and complete grasp of the Ravel sound-world.

Music and Maths explored in the Oxford Philharmonic's innovative concert with Marcus du Sautoy

Marcus du Sautoy

Music & Maths - Debussy Prélude de l’après-midi d’une faune, Stravinsky Symphony in Three Movements, Bartók Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, BB 114; Professor Marcus du Sautoy, Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, Marios Papadopoulos; Saffron Hall
Reviewed by Colin Clarke and Carl Dowthwaite on 16 October 2019 Star rating: 4.0 (★★★★)
Music and Maths, an exploration of the mathematics behind the music, a lecture with live music or a concert with extended introductions.

Under the title Music and Maths, Marios Papadopoulos and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra presented a programme of Debussy, Stravinsky and Bartók at Saffron Hall on 16 October 2019 at which they were joined by Marcus du Sautoy who discussed each work in the programme from a mathematical point of view. This review is a joint one by a music reviewer, our regular contributor Colin Clarke, and a mathematician, Carl Dowthwaite.

Marcus du Sautoy is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford. He also (rather reassuringly) holds the Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science. Linked to the latter is his first non-academic book, The Music of the Primes, which was followed by Finding Moonshine (the latter an exploration of symmetry in our lives), The Num8er Mysteries, What we cannot know and How to Count to Infinity, amongst others.

In this collaboration with the Oxford Philharmonic, Professor du Sautoy discussed each work from a number of perspectives, at the heart of which was the idea of the “secret garden” of maths. “Music is the pleasure the human mind experiences from counting without it being aware that it is counting” was the starting point, a quote from the Enlightenment polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz (1646-1716). As du Sautoy rightly pointed out, while mathematics is the science of patterns, music is the art of patterns. A scale is a pattern, and with his opening descent of his Prélude de l’après-midi d’une faune, Debussy issues a challenge to composers to think again about how we conceptualise musical language.

The basis of Western musical language is the overtone series (beautifully illustrated via a volunteer from the audience and a skipping rope plus instruments of the orchestra). How we divide the scales in the way we do was du Sautoy’s starting point. This journey that took us from Pythagoras all the way to the Modes of Limited Transposition: Number One, the whole-tone scale, is very much part of Debussy’s language (think the opening four bars of “Voiles” from the first book of Préludes, for example); the octatonic scale, the second Mode of Limited Transposition, has huge importance in Stravinsky, including in the piece we heard, the Symphony in Three Movements. And with this, the importance of patterns was brought to our attention.

Prom 74: Beethoven Night is Back - imaginative programming from Andrew Manze and NDR Radiophilharmonie, Hanover

Prom 74 - NDR Radiophilharmonie, Andrew Manze, Elizabeth Watts
BBC Proms (Photo Chris Christodoulou / BBC)

Handel Music for the Royal Fireworks,
Beethoven Concert Aria, "Ah Perfido!",
Bach (arr. Elgar) Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV537,
Beethoven Fidelio, Overture and 'Abscheulicher!', Symphony No. 5;
Elizabeth Watts (soprano),
NDR Radiophilharmonie Hanover/Andrew Manze;
BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed by Colin Clarke on 13 September 2019
Star rating: 4.0 (★★★★)
Coupling Beethoven’s music with that of two of his great musical heroes, Handel and Bach

Friday the 13th (13 September 2019) brought a Proms tradition – Beethoven Night – back to life with a visit from the North German Radio (Norddeutscher Rundfunk) orchestra, Hanover under their Chief Conductor since 2014, Andrew Manze, with soprano Elizabeth Watts. Coupling Beethoven’s music with that of two of his great musical heroes, Handel and Bach, was effective and imaginative programming.

Initially associated with early music, Manze was a member of the group Romanesca; in 1996 he was appointed as Associate Conductor and Director of the Academy of Ancient Music. Manze’s contract with The NDR Hannover Orchestra has been extended until Summer 2023, and it is easy to see how the orchestra admires him and responds well to him. Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks was given a surprisingly smooth, even gentle reading, the 'Largo alla siciliana', also called 'La paix' actually fairly indulgent, although rescued by a pronounced linear awareness. Perhaps 'La Rejouissance' could have been more festive, although that was in keeping with the rest of the performance. It was Handel, too, who provided the final pieces of the concert, in encore form: two movements from the Water Music Suite in G.

In between was a rare outing of Beethoven’s Concert Aria, 'Ah, perfido!'. Young man’s music (written aged 25), this was the point at which the whole evening went up a notch or two. Elizabeth Watts was a superb interpreter, pure and smooth at 'Per pietà,' properly agitated at 'Ah, crudel!'. The opening section (the bit with the text by Metastasio) was superbly accompanied by Manze, the orchestra light but presenting great detail. It was difficult to imagine a greater contrast than the Bach/Elgar Fantasia and Fugue in C minor (BWV 537). No missing the Elgarian sheen to the Fantasia; this is echt-Prom material. If the ear does have to adjust to that harp, there is no denying the effectiveness of the timpani heartbeat. All this was brilliantly delivered by Manze’s forces; impossible to ignore, too, the cheeky flourishes of the cymbal.

Two Fidelio excerpts formed the opening of the second part of the concert, the Overture light in the opening exchanges, lithe in the faster section. Clarity again at a premium, the performance was nevertheless a touch underpowered; not a criticism that could be levelled at the superb 'Abscheulicher!' that followed, Watts absolutely inside the role (how she enjoyed the “sch” sound of 'Abscheulicher') supported by a fine set of horns, individuals all in their solos and yet as one when required.

And so to the Fifth. That word again – “lithe.” Fast, light, exposition repeat intact, the woodwind/strings exchanges scrupulously observed. The most mesmeric moments of the evening were contained in a beautiful plateau of chords in the 'Andante con moto', revelatory in their spectral demeanour. The scampering double-basses of the Scherzo were a true delight alongside bullet-hard timpani, the transition to the finale intelligent rather than apocalyptic. The finale’s ebb and flow enabled a more variegated landscape than most, enabling moments of an almost startling tenderness. The coda, fast but not pressed, seemed perfectly in accord with Manze’s interpretation: enlightening, intelligent and ultimately more satisfying than any dash to the finishing line.

Reviewed by Colin Clarke

Elsewhere on this blog

• An interesting and illuminating mix: I chat to Ensemble Hesperi about combining Scottish Baroque music with Highland dance - interview
  
• A listening challenge: Philippe Manoury's large-scale musical fresco for piano duo and electronics in a stunning performance (★★★) - Cd review
• A terrific place to start an exploration of Jonathan Dove's non-operatic output: Lawrence Zazzo, BBC Philharmonic, Timothy Redmond on Orchid Classics  (★★★★) - CD review
• A considerable company achievement: David Blake's Scoring a Century from British Youth Opera - Opera review
  
• Prom 63: A 'nice mountain to climb', Yuja Wang, Dresden Staatskapelle, Myung-Whun Chung at the BBC Proms  (★★★★★) - concert review
• To avoid being the sort of group which comes in, does a concert & goes away again: I chat to violinist David Le Page, artistic director of the Orchestra of the Swan - interview
• The Late Romantic Violin: music by Vladigerov, Poulenc & Seaborne (★★★★) - CD review
  
• Prom 61: Ultimately, rather uninvolved - the Vienna Philharmonic in Dvořák and Korngold (★★★★) - concert review
• All was stylish & expressive, leaving us to enjoy the music & the comedy in such an engaging way that the time sped by: British Youth Opera in Rossini's La Cenerentola  - opera review
  
• An unforgettable night: a true slice of history in the making: Bernard Haitink, Vienna Philharmonic & Emmanuel Ax at the BBC Proms (★★★★★) - concert review
• A passionate evening: Bellini's I Capuleti ed I Montecchi  at Grimeborn (★★★) - opera review
  
• A dazzling carnival erupts onto the stage and we don't want it to stop: Berlioz Benvenuto Cellini at the BBC Proms  (★★★★★) - opera review
  
• Home

Prom 63: A 'nice mountain to climb', Yuja Wang, Dresden Staatskapelle, Myung-Whun Chung at the BBC Proms

Prom 63 - Yuja Wang, Dresden Staatskapelle - BBC Proms (Photo BBC / Chris Christodoulou)

Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Brahms Symphony No. 2 in D; Yuja Wang (piano), Dresden Staatskapelle, Myung-Whun Chung; BBC Proms
Reviewed by Colin Clarke on 6 September 2019 Star rating: 5.0 (★★★★★)
A performance of utmost command from Yuja Wang in Rachmaninov with radiant Brahms from the Dresden visitors to the Proms

Prom 63 - Myung-Whun Chung, Dresden Staatskapelle
BBC Proms (Photo BBC / Chris Christodoulou)

Prom 63: The Dresden Staatskapelle and conductor Myung-Whun Chung in Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto, with pianist Yuja Wang, and Brahms' Symphony No. 2 in D at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall on 6 September 2019, reviewed for Planet Hugill by Colin Clarke

Yuja Wang describes Rachmaninov’ Third Piano Concerto, in a Radio Three interview, as a “nice mountain, one you want to climb.” Characteristically dressed to impress in a red, sparkly what I believe is known as a mermaid dress, one with quite a split in it, Wang gave a performance of the utmost command. This was intelligent, thought-through playing, textures perfectly considered, chords perfectly placed. Wang has a lovely sound, clear but velvety at the same time; the orchestra balanced that with its inherent warmth (including subtle vibrato from the first horn in the first half). But the intelligence of her reading was what shone, her awareness not only of textural clarity in her own contribution, but her awareness of interactions with orchestral soloists, also. Finding wit in the close of the first movement seemed entirely appropriate. Although hardly shying away from the grand Romantic gestures and the powerhouse virtuosity, it was in the quieter moments, with her unforced rubato and golden, singing cantabile, that Wang excelled.

Prom 61: Ultimately, rather uninvolved - the Vienna Philharmonic in Dvořák and Korngold

Prom 61 - Leonidas Kavakos, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
BBC Proms 2019 (Photo BBC / Chris Christodoulou)

Dvořák The Noonday Witch, Korngold Violin Concerto Dvořák Symphony No. 9 in E minor; Leonidas Kavakos (violin), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrés Orozco-Estrada;BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed by Colin Clarke on 4 September 2019 Star rating: 4.0 (★★★★)
The Vienna Philharmonic's second 2019 Prom saw them in a rather different mood in a programme full of Czech links.

Prom 61: The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (VPO) and Andrés Orozco-Estrada in Dvořák's The Noonday Witch, Korngold's Violin Concerto, with Leonidas Kavakos (violin) and Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 in E minor on Wednesday 4 September 2019 at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.

If the previous night’s VPO concert with Haitink [see Colin Clarke's review] had been chalk, this was the cheese. Haitink provided a once-in-a-lifetime experience, supremely elevating tinged with the sweet pain of parting and presenting an orchestra unlike any others, almost superhuman in its execution; Orozco-Estrada brought a far more workaday experience, far more fallible, still recognisably the Vienna Philharmonic, but tired (they do have a hectic schedule, in fairness) and, ultimately, rather uninvolved.

The relationship between the evening’s composers and America is one theme (Dvořák’s “New World” and his sojourn in America needs no introduction; neither does Korngold’s association with Hollywood). There is a Czech-like thread though as well, as Korngold was born in Brünn, which is, today, the astonishingly beautiful Czech city of Brno.

Prom 61 - Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - BBC Proms 2019 (Photo BBC / Chris Christodoulou)

The Colombian-Austrian conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada, principally known in the UK via his association with the London Philharmonic, began unsteadily, with a retake of the opening (how often does that happen to he VPO, I wonder?), an unsure start to a rather unsteady concert.

An unforgettable night; a true slice of history in the making: Bernard Haitink, Vienna Philharmonic & Emmanuel Ax at the BBC Proms

Prom 60 - Bernard Haitink, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - BBC Proms (Photo BBC / Chris Christodoulou)

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Op. 58, Bruckner Symphony No. 7 in E; Emanuel Ax (piano), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Bernard Haitink; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed by Colin Clarke on 3 September 2019 Star rating: 5.0 (★★★★★)
For the first of its concerts at the Proms this year, Bernard Haitink conducted the Vienna Philharmonic, an orchestra he first conducted in 1972

Prom 60: Bernard Haitink conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at the BBC Proms on 3 September 2019 in Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4, with Emmanuel Ax, and Bruckner's Symphony No. 7.

At the age of 90, after a career of 65 years, this was what was almost certainly Bernard Haitink’s final UK appearance. The respect between conductor and orchestra ever palpable (and how enthusiastically they joined in the final, standing ovation), this was a concert for the ages, one to live in the memory forever – it is not fanciful to put it up there with Bernstein’s Barbican Mahler Ninth with the Concertgebouw in the 1980s. Ahead of these concerts at one of the rehearsals, (he conducts this programme again on Friday in Lucerne), the Vienna Philharmonic presented Haitink with honorary membership of the orchestra – he first conducted them in 1972.

With a serenely spread G major chord, Emanuel Ax launched a gloriously unrushed reading of Beethoven’s Fourth Concerto. This piece is part of the life blood of Haitink, Ax and the Vienna Philharmonic; but there was not a shred of complacency around this performance. The conversations between piano and wind were impeccably judged (Sophie Dervaux’ bassoon a first among equals), Haitink’s gestures honed to a minimum, followed to a tee by the orchestra, ensured perfect ensemble between soloist and orchestra. Murray Perahia had been the mouth-watering billing for soloist initially, but had withdrawn due to illness, sadly; Ax is no second-best, it turned out, his articulation an absolute joy, nowhere more so that in the first movement cadenza (the more extended one by Beethoven), perfectly judged, its continuation magical, string pizzicato absolutely together.

Prom 60 - Emmanuel Ax, Bernard Haitink, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - BBC Proms
(Photo BBC / Chris Christodoulou)

Prom 47: A splendid Bruckner Eighth from the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under music director Andris Nelsons

Prom 47: Bruckner Symphony no. 8 - Andris Nelsons (Photo BBC / Chris Christodoulou)

Bach organ works, Bruckner Symphony No. 8; Michael Schönheit, org: Andres Nelsons, cond: Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert hall
Reviewed by Colin Clarke on 23 August 2019 Star rating: 4.0 (★★★★)
Andris Nelsons, conducting the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra as Gewandhauskapellmeister at the BBC Proms for the first time, takes a spacious view of Bruckner's magnificent edifice at the BBC Proms

Prom 47 - Michael Schönheit (Photo BBC / Chris Christodoulou)

J. S. Bach and Leipzig enjoy a clear link, given Bach’s association with that city’s Thomaskirche; the Leipzig Gewandhaus certainly made the connection, inviting their organist, Michael Schönheit, to give a mini-Bach recital prefacing Bruckner’s great edifice, his Eighth Symphony. Of course, Bruckner was himself an organist, and was at the Walcker organ of the Gewandhaus the day before the premiere of his Seventh Symphony; he also gave recitals on the Albert Hall organ. The connections seem to be endless.

For Prom 47 on Friday 23 August 2019 at the Royal Albert Hall, Michael Schönheit played Bach's Fantasia in G minor, BWV 542, the chorale from Cantata No. 147 'Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben', BWV 147, Prelude in E flat major, BWV 552, Chorale Prelude 'Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme', BWV 645 and Fugue in E flat major, BWV 552, before Andris Nelsons conducted the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 8.

Shards of sound: Messiaen's Des Canyons aux Étoiles at the Proms

Nicolas Hodges

Messiaen Des Canyons aux étoiles; Nicolas Hodges, Martin Owen, David Hockings, Alex Neal, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed by Colin Clarke on 28 July 2019
Mightily rewarding, one of Messiaen's greatest scores makes a rare appearance at the Proms

For Prom 13, Nicolas Hodges (piano), Martin Owen (horn), David Hockings (xylorimba), Alex Neal (glockenspiel) and BBC Symphony Orchestra, conductor Sakari Oramo performed Messiaen's Des Canyons aux étoiles at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday 28 July 2019. Colin Clarke was there to cover it for Planet Hugill.

Messiaen’s great sonic vista, Des Canyons aux étoiles, was written between 1971 and 1974. It is one of his greatest scores, inspired by the deserts of Utah (and, in the seventh movement, Brice Canyon in particular). The composer’s preoccupation with the spiritual nature of birdsong is a thread that runs through the score, while his pronounced religiosity finds an outlet in taking inspiration from the inscription on the wall at Belshazzar’s Feast in the third movement, “Ce qui est écrit sur les étoiles …”. The scoring is for solo piano, horn, xylorimba and glockenspiel with an orchestra possessed of huge kitchen department, including tubular bells, various types of chimes (glass, wood, finger), and six temple blocks. There is also a “geophone,” a large, flat drum filled with lead beads and rotates: the idea is that it sounds like shifting sand, and it really is remarkable. The string section, though, is small (6.3.3.1): our attention is directed to the winds (such an important part of Messiaen’s armoury: think of Et Expecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum of 1964, for example). The work’s exploration of birdsong may also remind us of Reveil des Oiseaux (1953) and, of course, the huge compendium that is Catalogue d’oiseaux (1956-58).