Bamberger Symphoniker: Dvořák & Suk
Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 9/8/24
Bamberger Symphoniker, Edinburgh Festival Chorus, Jakub Hrůša (conductor), Kateřina Kněžiková (soprano), Adam Plachetka (baritone)
The third and last of 3 Usher Hall concerts, comprising the Bamberger Symphoniker’s Residency at this year’s Edinburgh International Festival under their chief conductor Jakub Hrůša, presented an all-Czech programme, with works by Antonín Dvořák and his son-in-law Josef Suk. The orchestra was joined by the Edinburgh Festival Chorus (trained by James Grossmith) and soloists for a performance of Dvořák’s cheerfully devout 1892 ‘Te Deum’, sung in Latin with English surtitles. After the interval, Suk’s 1906 Second Symphony ‘Asrael’, named for the Angel of Death, traces the raw emotions of grief following the death of his teacher, mentor and father-in-law Dvořák followed by that of his wife Otilie Dvořákova just over a year later. Notwithstanding the fact that neither work tops the classical charts, attendance was disappointing.
Commissioned as a piece to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of the ‘discovery’ of America (setting aside the obvious point that the native inhabitants already know about it) and to introduce the composer to the New York music scene and the conservatoire of which he was to be appointed director, Dvořák’s ‘Te Deum’ is a cantata for chorus, orchestra and two soloists amounting to an extended hymn of praise in 4 sections performed without a break. A mood of rejoicing permeates the 22-minute piece. Czech coloratura soprano Kateřina Kněžiková and her husband, baritone Adam Plachetka, were the soloists entrusted with some of Dvořák’s sunniest melodies, a trust they both repaid handsomely. Our Edinburgh Festival Chorus was on top form and all were a credit to director James Grossmith and themselves. The instrumental writing, in Dvořák’s orchestration of an organ part, is up there with the later symphonies and, in what was for me (and, I expect, most of those present) a first hearing, it received committed and convincing playing. Having played the second violin part in Handel’s ‘Dettingen Te Deum’ while at university in the early 1980s and having known and loved Bruckner’s ‘Te Deum’ from about the same time, I am happy to add the Dvořák to the list. The Usher Hall responded with equal enthusiasm.
This was my second live hearing of Suk’s Asrael Symphony, the first being a performance by the RSNO sometime in the noughties, I think under Marin Alsop (although it may have been Lazarev). Back then, I remember being impressed but not enamoured, finding it too long. The Bamberger Symphoniker under Jakub Hrůša awarded it a fuller and more compelling advocacy and the result was compelling and cathartic. In this work, Suk emerges as an expert orchestrator with a new musical language at his disposal. The first of the 5 movements, where a sombre elegiac mood is the matrix in which are set moments of defiant rage and oppressive grief, has a sound world incorporating elements that would not be out of place in a Richard Strauss tone poem or a Bruckner symphony. It ends quietly and segues into a ghostly nocturne with elements of a very Mahlerian funeral march, but with dreamy sighing harmonies placing the scene on the very edge of reality. The third movement is a demonic Vivace dance like a very fast waltz, hovering between playful and threatening. It has a slower central trio section where the sighing harmonies of the second movement return and a lovely solo for the principal violin is featured. The fourth movement is seen as an elegy for Otilie, with moments of great tenderness and serenity, and plaintive melodies for solo oboe, violin and cello, eventually concluding morendo. The finale opens with brass and timpani and there is a galloping chase leading to a huge orchestral climax. The calm after the storm introduces the first glimmer of hope with brass chorale and a cor anglais solo, and some magical writing for four cellos. The closing pages are calmly idyllic.
Asrael is not everybody’s cup of tea. A small number of audience members slipped away before the end. But those who stayed were visibly moved. The hall was silent for about 20 seconds after the last note. The applause, when it came, was fulsome, tumultuous and long-lasting.
The Bamberger Symphoniker was formed in 1946 in Bamberg following the expulsion of all ethnic Germans (many whose families had been resident for centuries in Czechoslovakia) from the state post-war. A significant proportion of the original players had been members of the German Philharmonic of Prague before the war. Despite their status as a foremost touring orchestra, this was my first time hearing them live. They really are superb – well up there with the best central European orchestras. The ensemble sound is warm, rich and perfectly blended. They respond faithfully to Jakub Hrůša’s moulding of the sound and the interpretation in a musical partnership of the highest quality. Full marks from me.
Photo credit: Andreas Herzau