Scottish Chamber Orchestra: ‘A French Adventure’ with Steven Isserlis
Queen’s Hall - 24/02/22
The first Thursday night SCO Queen’s Hall concert since December is in a rather different auditorium. It’s very nearly a full house, there’s far more of a buzz beforehand in the bar and the applause sounds much better! The orchestra is still placed on the floor of the hall, and in the first half is a big orchestra – 40 plus musicians for Debussy’s ‘Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune’ and Saint Saens’ Cello Concerto No 1. It is still a chamber orchestra though, and the unique sounds of the Debussy sound fresh and imaginative in the small hall. The shimmering texture of the whole work, with quivering strings and cooing winds is there, but we hear with greater clarity the contributions of the different sections of the orchestra – the trilling cellos near the beginning, and the two harps - as well as the solo instruments. The flute, wonderfully played by Andre Cebrian, represents the piping faun. He has a lovely duet with Sophie Wedell on violin, and another with the horn in the final repetition of the theme.
Steven Isserlis comes on stage with the conductor, and after a wry raising of an eyebrow as he elbow bumps with the leader, he is immediately engrossed in the intense opening of the Saint Saens. I didn’t know the concerto, and on the basis of this performance was surprised to find out that it was written as early as 1872, when Saint Saens was 37. He lived to be 86 and was considered fairly conservative at the time. The passion and intensity brought to the work by Isserlis and Emelyanychev turns this into a whirlwind of an orchestral and solo experience. (Isserlis with Tilson Thomas and the LSO from the early 90s sound staid in comparison.) It is a compact work but delivers a great deal in its 20 minute single movement. The thunderstorm, represented in the opening section, slows to the second more lyrical subject, with some eerily high notes as well as passages which develop the instrument’s fine lower tones. (Isserlis plays a Stradivarius from 1726). Then the cellist stops, and the strings play a delicate minuet. Isserlis switches from his rapt concentration to a gentle interest in the orchestra, half turning to encourage them with a smile. He joins them in the development of this more relaxed theme before the music recapitulates the fury of the first section. The performance is breathtaking and is greeted by well-deserved cheers. Isserlis has been a devotee of the work throughout his career, but I doubt if he has ever played it better.
Eventually Isserlis plays his encore – with the orchestra - a slow beautiful piece by Saint-Saens’ pupil, Faure. “This is more than you might have expected,” he says in introduction, “but it’s worth it!”
The stage is reset during the interval. It takes a while, as the second half begins with a musical curiosity, ‘Dixtuor’ (or Dectet) by another long-lived French composer, Jean Francaix (1912-1997). The SCO’s musicians often play in smaller chamber groupings, string quartets and quintets, and wind ensembles. Here we have two for the price of one. A string quartet plus double bass sit in a line opposite a wind quintet. Would this small group need a conductor? Then Emelyanychev returns, and we discover the precision required in the work, and the need for direction. It’s the most modern piece on the programme, written in 1959, and if the Saint-Saens sounded more recent than its date, Francaix’s work sounds earlier. I find the first two movements are pleasant enough, but I didn’t really warm to his style till the third movement, when quick-fire call and responses between the two sections is witty and invigorating. Emelyanychev employs a range of unorthodox hand movements to ensure the split second timing here! The last movement is even better, combining the energy of a country dance with a distinctly jazzy sound. The double-bassist gets into this groove very happily! It’s obviously a hit with the audience.
Last up, with no connection to France, is Bartok’s ‘Divertimento for String Orchestra’. Emelyanychev enjoys exploring the possibilities of the orchestra’s layout. He shows how a shake-up to expectations can affect the sound and also the energy of the players - and maybe the audience too. The Francaix would have seemed a different piece if we’d had two conventionally grouped ensembles facing the conductor. For the Bartok, the all-string orchestra are standing, but the conventional stage placings are reversed: the first violins are on the right of the stage, the second violins to the left, with the lower strings in rows across the back. It’s the longest piece in the programme – sometimes a risk at the end of an evening – but there’s certainly plenty of ‘oomph’ in the playing. As the title indicates, we see Bartok’s more playful side here. There are folk elements in the allegro first movement, with unusual, sometimes jazz-inspired rhythms. But the second movement reminds us that the work was written in 1939 by a forthright opponent of the Nazis. There’s no let-up in the sense of foreboding in this Adagio, with grumblings from the lower strings, and later a harsh shrieking in the violins. The exciting third movement with its carousel-style music, and fast and furious jollity brings the piece to a rollicking end. This has been a fascinating programme with exciting playing throughout and bodes well for rest of this first season of full audiences.
For more on Isserlis and the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto, you may like to dip into an online discussion between a very young Isserlis and a slightly older Dudley Moore, as they explore the work on piano and cello.
