BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra: Beethoven’s Violin Concerto
Usher Hall - 28/11/21
One of the features of this season’s concerts has been the number of last -minute replacements of soloists and conductors. The positive side of this is that for every disappointment there is an opportunity, and indeed sometimes replacement conductors have gone on to permanent positions with British orchestras. But it does demand some resilience from the performers. This afternoon the young German violinist, Tobias Feldmann, takes over at short notice from the advertised soloist, Veronika Eberle.
Beethoven’s violin concerto is well-known, though mostly for its exuberant last movement, a short and rousing favourite on Radio 3 morning programmes. It wasn’t a success initially and after a poor reception at its premiere wasn’t part of the repertoire till Mendelssohn championed it in the 1840s.The long first movement shows Beethoven at his most inventive, with daring interplay between the violin and the other sections of the orchestra. The five-beat opening on the timpani followed by the first utterance of the main subject on woodwind was revolutionary for its time and the drum plays a vital role throughout the work. The strings then play four repeated notes before picking up the theme which is explored by the orchestra for several minutes before the soloist plays. The development of the initial theme and the repeated-note motifs calls for virtuosity and lyricism from Feldmann. He certainly has both, without in any way showing off. He’s a concentrated figure on the stage, only occasionally allowing himself a smile when he accomplishes a particularly difficult passage. One of the drawbacks of sitting in the Usher Hall Stalls is that it’s difficult to see the back rows of the orchestra. Woodwind and brass play an important role in this work, though it was often hard to say which instruments! There are certainly oboes and bassoons, and at least one horn next to the timpani – the trumpet(s) are hidden at the other end. Those sections where the violin plays over quiet wind instruments or alternates phrases with them are particularly lovely.
The second movement with its long soaring lines for the soloist is compared to Vaughan Williams’ Lark Ascending by Jo Kirkbride in her programme note. The woodwind, also with a hint of birdsong, play at the start of the movement and the horn is prominent in the closing moments. Then the violin bounds without a break into the finale. The seemingly simple rustic dance requires much finesse from violinist and orchestra. Here Feldmann’s playing is beautifully light, until the crunchy harmonies and faster rhythms of the cadenza provide a contrast. Conductor David Afkham, dapper in frockcoat and patent boots, keeps the finale buoyant until the explosive energy of its last few bars. Freiburg-born Afkham, since 2019 the Principal Conductor of the Spanish National Orchestra and Chorus, has won a number of international conducting competitions and at 38 is 8 years older than Feldmann.
After the interval, we have a tribute to Beethoven in the form of a five-minute piece by Unsak Chin, Subito con forza, premiered during this year’s Proms. She says she wishes to celebrate the range of Beethoven’s works and their shifts from “Volcanic eruptions to the utmost serenity.” With the timpanist and two percussionists causing various eruptions, there’s plenty to see and hear from tambourines, woodblocks, gongs, heavy metallic implements on xylophones… The players move around fast with split-second timing. There are eventually lovely string effects too. It couldn’t be mistaken for Beethoven, but I think that Chin, like her 19th century hero, enjoys the fearless exploration of the sounds that an orchestra can make.
The last work today is Schumann’s Symphony No 3, ‘Rhenish’, an unusual five movement symphony written to celebrate a visit to Cologne. Critics have seen echoes of Beethoven in the intricacy of the first movement with its insistent reworking of the main theme. The second movement too, originally named ‘Morning on the Rhine’, has echoes of the Pastoral Symphony. On stage the trombones have stood as if poised in the choir stalls throughout the concert, and their players, who emerge for this last work, have to be patient until the fourth movement. This was written in praise of Cologne Cathedral, 600 years in the building, but declared complete just before Schumann’s visit in 1850. The music, entitled ‘Solemn’, is a chorale featuring the brass with the three trombones dominating, a glorious sound, which does justice to its subject-matter. The finale with the direction lebhaft (lively) is a joyous outburst, with the trombones joining the full orchestra in its exciting conclusion.
The Usher Hall has sold pretty much all of its distanced seats (possibly less distanced for the SSO than for the other orchestras?) They, like the other orchestras, have opted for free online programmes. I assume that the lack of advertising and programme revenue have financial implications for the orchestras, but it’s certainly very handy for the audience to be able to consult them before the concert. The quality is always high, with clear informative essays on the works (today’s by Jo Kirkbride). Over the last few months we have also come to expect introductory talks by the conductor or one of the orchestra. Today it almost feels odd that there isn’t one! Behaviour that was once de rigeur at classical concerts now feels exceptional. But it can be good sometimes to let the music speak for itself.
