BBCSSO: Stravinsky and Turnage
City Halls, Glasgow - 12/10/23
Ryan Wigglesworth, conductor | Martin Robertson, soprano saxophone
‘Escape into Myth and Melancholy’ – the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra returned to the City Halls in Glasgow on the night of 12th October, after a fortnight’s gap, for a programme of lesser-known works, the tagline a reference to Stravinsky’s 1947 ballet music in 3 scenes, ‘Orpheus’, which closed the programme. Chief Conductor Ryan Wigglesworth directed, while David Alberman is still incumbent as Guest Leader. The other major work, a 1993 soprano saxophone concerto by Mark-Anthony Turnage, ‘Your Rockaby’, featured its dedicatee Martin Robertson as soloist. The concert, which was broadcast live on Radio 3, was introduced by Kate Molleson. It opened with Beethoven’s Overture, ‘Leonore’ No.2, while the second half opened with Korean composer Unsuk Chin’s 2020 homage to Beethoven, ‘Subito con forza’. It will remain available to hear online on BBC Sounds for 30 days after airing live. Perhaps because of the lesser-known repertoire, attendance was significantly sparser than usual for the City Halls concerts.
The overture, ‘Leonore’ No.2, was actually the first to be written and, whilst it has many features common to the other 3 overtures that Beethoven wrote for his opera ‘Fidelio’, it also stands alone in its uncompromising dramatic rough-hewn ruggedness. Ryan Wigglesworth brought to it the same vision that had characterised his reading of the ‘Eroica’ in the Lammermuir Festival and the playing was phenomenal. Special mention for the perfectly judged dramatic pauses and super offstage trumpet playing from Mark O’Keefe.
The ‘Rockaby’ of the BBC-commissioned concerto’s title derives from a late play by Samuel Beckett, in which a recorded voiceover recounts the reminiscences of an old woman in a rocking chair. The orchestral scoring is huge with triple winds (with some players doubling on second instruments like alto flutes and bass clarinet), full brass with tuba and an absolute barrage of exotic percussion. The bells alone included a 2-octave frame of suspended handbells, tubular bells, a frame of tuned cowbells and a set of crotales. Despite the magnitude of this sonic leviathan, the solo instrument rose high and clear above the tumult and I suspect that it was amplified. The music is episodic and in the character of a narrative, with elements of urban jazz and blues prominent in the musical language. Rhythmic and syncopated passages alternate with lyrical, meditative, melancholy and plaintive ones. It was a first hearing for me and not once did my attention wander. The performance was committed and compelling from soloist and orchestra alike, while the virtuosity of the solo delivery was frankly stunning. Mark-Anthony Turnage was present in the audience and the Glasgow audience cheered their approval, as composer, soloist and conductor embraced at the end. A top-drawer performance of a top-drawer piece.
The fortissimo string unison C that opens Beethoven’s ‘Coriolan’ Overture also opens Unsuk Chin’s homage to the master, but instead of the ensuing C-minor chord on full orchestra, we get a discordant crash. Her short piece then explores the personality, both musical and human, of her hero, with other partly hidden quotations (including for piano) and a sense of heroic but mercurial struggle. Exciting, thrilling and a bit of fun. Very enjoyable.
This was my first time hearing Stravinsky’s ‘Orpheus’ live and it is wonderful to be able to see the instruments and players as the narrative unfolds in music that is unmistakably Stravinsky, but in a dreamier voice and a more pastel palette for Balanchine than the epic enunciation and bolder primary colours employed for his Diaghilev ballets. The role of the harp, emulating Orpheus’ lyre, is crucial in the soundscape and Helen Thomson shone as always. The score is peppered with many more fabulous solos and all were delivered to perfection, with special mention for David Alberman (violin), Mathew Higham (flute), Rudi de Groote (cello), Mark O’Keefe (trumpet) and Kira Doherty (horn). This is an absolute gem of a piece and it’s all worthy of a listen. My personal favourite, the second tableau of Scene Two, is an Air de danse, Stravinsky in neo-classical mode channelling Bach, with the most delicious cantabile writing for two oboes in harmony, and it was played exquisitely. But a close second is the dramatic final tableau of the scene, where the maenads mob the hapless rockstar of the classical age and tear him to pieces, the Pas d’action, with its syncopation and full scoring, suddenly in the Stravinsky of the Symphony in 3 Movements and, to a lesser extent, the Symphony in C. It was clear that conductor and players alike love this music and relished giving it a rare outing, affording it the utmost advocacy.
This was a super concert and it is a pity that (and this is surmise on my part) the unfamiliarity of the programme culled the audience somewhat. It can still be enjoyed online but, wonderful though that is, it is a pale substitute for live music.