Ravel, Clyne and Rachmaninov
Usher Hall 21/03/25
Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Emila Hoving conductor, Senja Rummukainen cello
Tonight’s concert in the Usher Hall by the RSNO, conducted by Emila Hoving, was ultimately successful but slightly odd. Billed as a celebration of Dance, and featuring three works plainly inspired by dance, it resolutely failed to provide any moments of foot-tapping or the impetus to get up and waltz about. Yet, due largely to the extraordinary charisma of the conductor, and the solo cellist in the Scottish premiere of Anna Clyne’s DANCE, Senja Rummukainen, it ended up being a most satisfactory evening.
The combination of lesser known pieces, along with a contemporary premiere, resulted in a disappointing audience. Attendances have been so good in Edinburgh throughout this season that it was surprising, and rather sad, to see such a patchy turn out. Having played the Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances only two years ago, it was perhaps a bit foolhardy to schedule them again so soon, alongside a slightly obscure Ravel work and a work which was only written six years ago.
Ravel’s ‘Valses Nobles et Sentimentales’, written originally for piano in 1911 and orchestrated in 1912, is a set of eight waltzes, conceived as a sort of hommage to Schubert, but using the full scope of early 20th century Expressionism and Dissonance. The original piano performance was greeted by a barrage of boos, and it’s odd now to understand the reaction of the contemporary public to this charming music. How far we have all come! The RSNO played this introductory piece with full commitment, and there was a clear and very positive rapport between the orchestra and the young Finnish conductor, Emila Hoving. Right from the start, her flamboyant style was a delight to watch, and her baton style and expressive left arm created webs of gossamer around the podium.
She was soon joined by her compatriot, Senja Rummukainen, who was the cello soloist in Anna Clyne’s work for Cello and Orchestra, DANCE, first performed at the Cabrillo Festival in Santa Cruz, California, in 2019. I must say that I found DANCE an absolute revelation, and Ms Rummukainen held us utterly spellbound. Using a cello dating from 1707, this was some of the finest playing I have heard for a long time, and Ms Clyne’s music was well worthy of the performance.
DANCE is based on a five line poem by the 13th Century Persian poet and mystic, Rumi, and is itself in five movements:
Dance, when you’re broken open,
Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off,
Dance in the middle of the fighting,
Dance in your blood,
Dance, when you’re perfectly free.
A little weird! Fortunately, the work is a small masterpiece, with several sections of heart-stoppingly beautiful, melodic cello playing, often at the highest range of the instrument. Ms Rummukainen produced some quite exquisite sounds from her cello, and her expressive interpretation put me in mind of Jacqueline du Pré, who I heard in this very hall 50 years ago, playing the Elgar Cello Concerto. There were definite echoes of that wonderful concerto in Ms Clyne’s piece today, as well as passages of startling virtuosity, showcasing the cellist’s phenomenal technique. I was slightly concerned during the second movement that we were going to lapse into mindless fast bowing and double stopping, a cul de sac into which many contemporary composers seem to have wandered, but Ms Clyne only took us there to show us the real path to lyrical beauty, via a long spun out melody for soloist and orchestra which touched the soul.
This was an absolute tour de force, very loosely connected to any dance music I am aware of, and the roar from the audience at the end, and the warm applause which followed, was much merited. Ms Rummukainen treated us to some solo Sibelius as an encore, and I very much hope that the RSNO will rush to invite her back.
After the interval, we heard Rachmaninov’s late piece, the three movement ‘Symphonic Dances’, written in 1939 and premiered in 1941 in Philadelphia. Originally sporting a time line for the three movements of Midday, Twilight and Midnight, a sort of three ages of man scenario, Rachmaninov was well aware that he himself was nearing Midnight, and indeed he only had another couple of years to live. Having lived since 1917 in exile from Russia, many elements came into play related to this work – nostalgia, exile, fear of death, concern for the world as the Second World War raged across the globe. The composer’s frequent use of the Dies Irae plainchant melody, particularly in the last movement, told us more about his state of mind than the superficial references to the Dance.
There was some lovely saxophone playing in the first movement (by Scottish saxophonist, Lewis Banks), and delightful violin playing by the Leader, Maya Iwabuchi, and it was a real pleasure to watch the superbly balletic and athletic conducting of Emila Hoving, who enjoyed a personal success with the audience, and the orchestra too, I reckon.
We might not have been dancing in the aisles, but we left with a very satisfactory glow of contentment!
