Carter, Beethoven, R. Strauss
& Stravinsky: Emanuel Ax (piano), BBC Symphony Chorus
& Orchestra/Jirí Belohlávek,
Barbican Hall, 22.10.2005 (CC)
The BBC Symphony Orchestra's chief Conductor Designate
led his orchestra-to-be in a concert designed to celebrate
75 years to the day since Adrian Boult
conducted the orchestra for the first time. The idea was
to reflect the orchestra's contemporary music links as well
as the legion of 'top-flight' soloists that have joined
the orchestra as guests.
Elliott Carter was the 'modernist'
concerned, his Réflexions of 2003/4 receiving its UK premiere. Billed
as a mere five minutes, it was in actual fact just under
double that (somewhat spookily setting a bit of a trend
as it turned out – the interval was forty minutes as opposed
to twenty). Réflexions was composed for Pierre Boulez' 80th
birthday celebrations and so begins with a roll on a stone
('pierre' in French). I'm not sure I entirely follow the composer's
logic in deriving his generating hexachord from Boulez'
name. B is straightforward enough (B flat), but O=G sharp;
U=C (Ut?); L=A (La?) E=E (obviously)
and Z=D sharp (perhaps less obviously). Musically this was
typical Carter complexity leading to a typically Carter
'so what?' impression, and while it was nice to hear so
much of the contrabass clarinet, this work emerged as somewhat
jaded modernism.
Emanuel Ax's interpretation of the Emperor
had more than a touch of the routine about it. Technically
there was little to complain about, although Ax's sound
is rather harsh. Ax projects hugely, but where was the subtlety.
Frequent perfunctory passages contrasted with the more gritty
orchestral contribution. Perfect double-trills do not compensate
for interpretative depth. A resolute mp/mf orchestral
opening to the usually magical slow movement led to a sort
of 'half-magic' from the soloist. The only real redeeming
factor of this slow movement was some impressive woodwind
contributions – even the transition failed to cast a spell.
If the finale was fast and nimble, it also contained definite
drops in tension. Disappointing.
Things did not improve too much in the second half,
when it eventually came. Strauss' Tod
und Verklärung, despite some nicely pulsating strings at the
opening, was hardly hugely dark in shade. The oboe solo
that is usually a shaft of light was plain and there was
unforgivably scrappy violin playing later on. Whatever urgency
there was (and there was some) would have been immeasurably
enhanced by a string section that evinced some body of tone,
at least.
Finally (beginning at 9.37pm!), Stravinsky's magnificent
Symphony of Psalms. Things did not begin promisingly,
with a first chord splattered all over the Barbican Hall
and most of the way to Liverpool Street; nor did the ensuing
lackadaisical woodwind dovetailing help. The ultra-high
oboe was a redeeming feature, but why did the chorus not
sing together as one body (the sound was not just homogenous).
There was hardly any sense of the grand, just as there was
no mystery in the second movement. Again some excellent
solo contributions (oboe and flute, this time, but
vocal accents on 'expectans' were
very muted and sopranos in general were thin.
The finale said it all. Rhythmically it tried but
just missed being on-the-ball. The gorgeous opening even
managed to be literal, and the hypnosis of the final pages
was partial, to say the least. Just to put some icing on
the cake, the tuning in the final chords was way off. I
had hoped for more. Much more.
Colin Clarke
