EIF: Maxim Emelyanychev and Principals of the SCO
Old College Quad
An underwhelming concert in the Old Quad.
This was my feeling after this concert. Yes it was nice to hear the wind principals of the SCO and the Mozart was pleasant enough but the other work by Thuille was less than memorable (sometimes there are good reasons why composers are forgotten!). One of the reasons I think was that the Festival billed this concert headlining the SCO’s chief conductor, who is not only their star conductor, but also a renowned pianist. Indeed his star status has recently been boosted by the SCO’s performance at the Proms where the orchestra got 5-star ratings for their performance of three Mozart symphonies and Maxim got rave reviews for his spirited, indeed at times flamboyant conducting. The audience at the Old Quad must have been disappointed that this performance didn’t reach that level. Partly I think that this was due to the layout of the pianist and the players. For many of us it was difficult to see Maxim at the piano because he was obscured by the wind players. I know the sound of the musicians is the most important but for me it is also important to see the music being performed; after all if we don’t want to see the musicians we could always stay at home and listen to the concert on Radio 3, where it will be broadcast on Tuesday at 1pm.
The music itself was partly to blame. The idea clearly was to give Maxim and the five wind players a chance to show their undoubted skills. The players are all very talented soloists as well as excellent chamber musicians. They were Andre Cebrian flute, Robin Williams oboe, Maximiliano Martin clarinet, Cerys Ambrose Evans bassoon and Roger Montgomery horn. Spread out around the piano (and for me obscuring the pianist) they were dressed in black and tended to merge into the black background of the Old Quad stage. The Mozart Quintet did give each of the musicians a chance to demonstrate their skills but for me it never really gripped and excited me in the way Mozart and the SCO normally do. I shall be interested to listen to the Radio 3 broadcast on Tuesday (and then on Sounds catch up ) to see whether it seems more dynamic in the BBC recording, and without the aural and visual distractions of the big tent in the Old Quad. At times the wind, the sun and the traffic and other offstage noises tend to distract you and I couldn’t help thinking how much more focussed this would have sounded in the Queens Hall. As for the Thuille Sextet for piano and winds it was underwhelming. He may have been popular in Vienna in the late nineteenth century, but I can understand why he is little known, and little played today.
