RSNO, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky
Usher Hall, 29/11/2024
RSNO, Thomas Søndergård (Conductor), Ethan Loch (Piano)
After the extraordinary success of ‘Carmina Burana’ a couple of weeks ago, I went along to this evening’s concert in a mood of gentle curiosity about a programme of early Beethoven and Tchaikovsky ballet music. Immediately, I noticed a buzz in the audience and a dramatically lower average age than usual, and I wondered why. The programme was pleasant and interesting, but why was the place full and vibrant? I discovered the answer halfway through the first half, but I’ll leave you to ponder over the puzzle for few moments longer.
The concert started with an orchestral work by the Edwardian composer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, his Ballade in A Minor, which was first performed in Gloucester in 1898 as part of the Three Choirs Festival. The commission had originally been offered to Edward Elgar, but he was adamant that it should go to the young composer of mixed race from Croydon, who had recently been studying with a scholarship at the Royal College of Music in London. Elgar’s support was well-founded, as the Ballade, conducted by Coleridge-Taylor himself, was very well-received, and later that year, he achieved a staggering success with the first part of his trilogy based on the epic poem of Henry Longfellow, ‘The Song of Hiawatha.’ ‘Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast’ was first performed in November 1898 at the Royal College of Music, conducted by the composer’s teacher, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, and achieved international fame for Coleridge-Taylor. Crucially though, he was paid 15 guineas outright for the work, and despite the work and its sequels being performed thousands of times all over the world, he and his family received not a penny more. When he died of pneumonia in 1912, aged only 37, he died in relative poverty, and the poor treatment of him and his family led to the foundation of the Performing Rights Society in 1914, which did so much for composers and performers over the years. It is only in our modern age of Spotify etc, when works and recordings can be performed and played multiple times with no financial advantage to the creators, that the system which was created to help composers like Coleridge-Taylor needs to be looked at again. The Ballade received a sparkling performance from the RSNO, under the spirited direction of its Music Director, Thomas Søndergård.
He was joined for the next piece by the Scottish pianist, Ethan Loch, for Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto in C Major, and now we discovered the reason for the large and youthful audience, as the blind pianist was led on to the platform by the conductor to a hero’s welcome. Still only 20, and with a Canadian accent from his early years in Vancouver, this astonishing young man has clearly won a tremendous following, and rightly so. Blind from birth, and drawn to the piano as a toddler, he has developed into a world class concert pianist and composer and thrilled the audience tonight with his dazzling playing and his utterly committed artistry. It is impossible for sighted people to imagine what it must be like learning an instrument you cannot see and playing in a wonderful hall which you can only feel through its acoustics. His journey through life has been written about already, and although he is still studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with Fali Pavri, he is clearly on a fantastic upward trajectory, both as a pianist and as a composer.
He coped easily with the virtuosic demands of Beethoven, as the young tyro composer stretched out the parameters of the recognised Classical Period piano concerto. Mozart and Haydn had between them adapted their compositions to the new Viennese actions of the fortepiano, which had itself been invented in about 1700 by Bartolomeo Cristofori. Action changes, by Johann Andreas Stein from Augsburg and others, radically altered the feel and touch of the emerging piano, and Beethoven’s imagination was fired by the possibilities of the new instruments. His Piano Concerto in C Major, first heard probably in 1798, played by the composer, must have astonished listeners, as the 25 year old Beethoven opened up a multitude of new sounds and modulations. The very length of the first movement, the prominence of the trumpets, horns and drums, and the extensive cadenza demonstrated to contemporary audiences that here was a unique talent, whose magical compositions would bewilder, stupefy, entertain, shock and deeply move generations to come. I was pondering all these things as I listened to this uniquely talented young man from Blantyre, Ethan Loch, playing this revolutionary music in the Usher Hall. It was fascinating to watch Mr Søndergård conducting in a completely different way, as he was obviously unable to communicate with Mr Loch visually, as nearly all concerto partners work. Much more listening was going on than usual, and as well as listening, the conductor was watching Mr Loch’s hands carefully. The ethereal slow movement was beautifully played and soon we were into the boisterous finale, ending with a triumphant surge, but not before the young Beethoven had taken us down several surprising alleyways en route!
The roar of applause at the end could have been heard down on Princes Street, and we were treated to two encores by Mr Loch, both compositions of his own. One was played in the dark, as the house lights were dowsed to invite us to experience a tiny fraction of the darkness in which he lives every day. A profound and moving moment.
After the interval, we were royally entertained by a superb performance of the Suite from Tchaikovsky’s miraculous ballet score, Swan Lake. As I have written before, I do feel that Mr Søndergård has a particular affinity for Tchaikovsky’s music, and that was very apparent tonight, as he led the RSNO in a truly sparkling account of this well-known score. Tchaikovsky wrote the music for the ballet in the years between 1875 and 1877, although the first night in Moscow in March 1877 was hardly a resounding success. So much has been written and said about the composer that I am loath to add more, but it occurred to me that the period of composition of the ballet and that of the 4th symphony a couple of years later, coincided almost exactly with the visit of Tchaikovsky to Bayreuth in Germany where he heard the world premiere of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle (1876). We know what the Russian composer thought of that world shattering event, because he wrote extensively about it for the ‘Russian Register’, and it is clear that he was interested but not greatly impressed. The two men were writing revolutionary music, but of completely different types. Wagner was hardly a shrinking violet, but Tchaikovsky wore his heart on his sleeve to such an extent that Wagner’s profoundly philosophical composition must have been hard to bear for the 36 year old Russian.
Plunged into the magical and romantic world of ‘Swan Lake’, whose origins remain obscure to this day, Tchaikovsky came up with a score of the utmost drama and excitement. After the initial froideur of the public response, the ballet gradually became more and more popular, until it is now perhaps the most loved of all the 19th century creations for the dance stage. Mr Søndergård and the RSNO played it as if their lives depended on it, and the end was greeted by another huge roar from the audience.
Exquisite solos came from the guest leader, Ania Safonova, and principal cello, Pei-Jee Ng, and there were star turns from Katie Smith (trumpet) and Adrian Wilson (oboe). A special mention goes to Pippa Tunnell, whose extended harp solo was one of the highlights of the evening, and warm congratulations to the percussion section who were kept very busy by the various national dances in the score, with their percussive specialities.
I’d like to extend a very warm welcome to the newly appointed principal double bass, Nikita Naumov, and can only express once again our gratitude to the whole orchestra for making concert going in Scotland such a privileged experience. Sir Alexander Gibson, with whom I sang on many occasions, would have been truly proud to see the orchestra which he led for so many years reach such Elysian heights under his successor.
Finally, on a sadder note, it was terrible to hear the news last week that Laura Samuel, the leader of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, has died at the age of only 48. Principal trumpet, Christopher Hart, made a very moving tribute to Laura from all the members of the orchestra before the concert. A fine violinist, and a lovely person, she will be much missed in Scottish musical circles. Our condolences go out to her family.
