The SCO: Nicola Benedetti

The Usher Hall

Tonight’s concert was sold out in the Stalls and Circle, but today’s coronavirus announcements have taken their toll, and I count 50 empty seats in the first six rows of the Stalls. I’m in the Upper Circle, and as most folk here got their tickets in the last couple of days, we’re determinedly filling up the centre section…  All of us are in for a treat with exciting playing from the SCO and world-class soloists.

It’s a nicely symmetrical programme, featuring the work of two prodigies.  The Mendelssohn first half begins with a work written in his teens, and goes on to his Violin Concerto, his last major work.  The overture from Mozart’s last opera, La Clemenza di Tito starts the second half, followed by the Sinfonia Concertante written when he was 23.  The two works in the middle are for full orchestra, including winds and timpani, with the first and last works featuring the strings.

Mendelssohn’s String Symphony No 10 in B minor was written in 1823 when he was 14 (a mere three years before he wrote his Midsummer Night’s Dream overture).  It’s a short single movement work – two other movements have never been found – but is a sparkling and assured piece.  Directed by the leader, Benjamin Marquise Gilmore, the SCO strings require the merest nod to set them on their way and negotiate the speed of the final Presto.  The SCO regularly work without a conductor, and, as Hugh Kerr pointed out in a recent article, the key to their success is undoubtedly in the rehearsal.  Impressive all the same.

A small puzzle in the violin concerto though.  Nicola Benedetti’s entry in the programme is given as Violin/Director.  She doesn’t stand still at the front but moves around in the horseshoe space formed by the orchestra.  But apart from a few movements of her arms in the brief moments when she’s not playing, she has her back to the orchestra, and it’s Gilmore who signals with his bow the change of tempo between movements, and one or two rallentandos.  No matter - it works splendidly.  The orchestra of course know the music well.  My SCO recording of it dates back to 1986 (with Jaime Laredo – who also directs!).

Benedetti plays beautifully, especially in the cadenza, placed, unusually in the middle of the first movement, and in the quieter slower music which immediately follows it.  But she is breathtakingly good too as the movement races to its conclusion.

The slow movement is preceded by a bassoon solo. (Mendelssohn didn’t like gaps between movements).  The beautiful melody makes its point simply.  There’s a brief central section with fuller orchestra, but mostly the solo violin soars lyrically over a quiet string accompaniment.

Another brief bridge take us to the allegro molto vivace of the last movement, where the solo violin plays against another tune in the strings at one point , with the woodwind at another, until the full orchestra including timpani and brass join in for the exciting finish.

I have a soft spot for Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, and have never understood the sniffy attitude of some critics.  True, he wrote it very quickly, but It contains two of the best female arias in the repertoire. (If you don’t know it, try Sesto’s “Parto, Parto.”)  Tonight of course we have just the overture, only five minutes long, but a miniature gem which gives all the orchestra a chance to shine. The dramatic opening and the final crescendo highlight brass (natural trumpets) and kettle drums, while the delicate middle theme is played impeccably by the woodwinds and strings.

Most of the orchestra leave before the Sinfonia Concertante K364 for Violin and Viola. Only the two horns and two oboes are left with the strings. Nicola Benedetti is joined by Lawrence Power on viola.  As well as his international appearances in standard classical repertory he has pioneered new works, including concertos by Gerald Barry and James Macmillan.  He’s an accomplished player who forms an exhilarating partnership with Benedetti.

This time I don’t bother about who’s directing!  The rapport between Power, Benedetti and Gilmore is astonishing.  The soloists stand well back, so they have eye contact with each other and with the leader.   After a conventional orchestral opening laying down the first theme, the viola and violin emerge with their first entry. Sometimes they play together in intervals, at other times, one player plays a few bars which is then repeated by the other.  One violist’s online blog describes the effect as the players chasing each other.  Certainly, at times it seems impossible to pin down where the music is going.  From time to time the horns or the oboes feature with either or both of the solo strings. The US critic Michael Clive remarks that many violinists prefer playing this piece to any of Mozart’s violin concertos.   The soloists make the most of the virtuosic duet cadenza, apparently one written out by Mozart rather than improvised.

The violin plays through the theme of the slow movement before it’s repeated by the viola.  Much of the movement consist in a poignant duet between the two, sometimes one following the other’s lead, sometimes one player “answering” the other. David Kettle in his programme note suggest the somber mood may reflect Mozart’s response to the recent death of his mother.

The presto final movement blows this solemnity away.  The orchestra plays a jolly tune with horns predominating.  A song suited to Papageno, perhaps. This is picked up by the soloists, and they develop sparkling variations, competing with each other as well as collaborating.  The pinpoint accuracy and rapport between Benedetti and Power impresses throughout.

Well-deserved applause.  There are a lot of young people in the audience.  It’s good that Nicola Benedetti’s popularity can bring in a young audience for an entirely classical programme like this one and convince them of its merits.

Power announces an encore:  Maxwell Davies’ Farewell to Stromness, in an arrangement for strings.  The beautiful setting maintains the simplicity of the piece (sometimes swamped in orchestral versions).  During the repeat of the first theme, the players walk off the stage one by one, leaving the violin and viola playing the last few notes pizzicato.

Many of the audience may see this as symbolic, with a ban on public events beginning next week.  The orchestra return to a huge ovation befitting what may be their last Edinburgh performance of the season. SCO’s Glasgow performance of this concert is being recorded on 13th March and will be broadcast on Radio 3 on 18th March.