Mahler,Symphony no. 6 : The Salomon Orchestra, Robin O’Neill (conductor),  St John’s, Smith Square, London 06.02.2007 (JPr)

 

The conductor Nicholas Braithwaite was one of those who came up with the concept of The Salomon Orchestra in Vienna’s Augustiner Keller in 1963. It has given opportunities to many artists in their early years, artists who have now become established names such as the conductors Andrew Davis, Simon Rattle and Martyn Brabbins, and soloists such as Felicity Lott, Jean Rigby, Kennedy, Barry Douglas, Piers Lane, Paul Crossley and Ronan O'Hora. (Although one wit behind me commented ‘Is there anyone Felicity Lott hasn’t appeared with?’) The orchestra’s name comes courtesy of Johann Peter Salomon (a violinist, composer and impresario born in the very same house in Bonn as Beethoven). A further claim to his musical fame was that he brought Haydn to England in 1791 and so the works of that composer made up much of the orchestra's early repertoire. Things have developed since then such that the orchestra has become better known for its performance of late romantic and twentieth-century music.

Scavenging a few highlights from the orchestra’s history, we see that at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in October 1988 it celebrated its silver anniversary and premièred Giles Swayne's The Song of the Leviathan, commissioned especially for the occasion. In 1999 at the Royal Festival Hall the orchestra performed Mahler's Eighth Symphony conducted by Martyn Brabbins with the Huddersfield Choral Society, Crouch End Festival Chorus and Finchley Children's Music Group. For its 40th anniversary concert in October 2003 the huge orchestral forces needed were assembled for a performance of Richard Strauss' Alpine Symphony that saw the founding conductor Nicholas Braithwaite return to the podium.

The link with the president of the Salomon Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins, has led to a Beethoven-athon (all the symphonies) in 2003, followed in 2005 by a Tchaikovsky-athon (the first six symphonies) at the Cheltenham International Music Festival.

I believe this was my first experience of The Salomon Orchestra and I cannot quibble when it describes itself as ‘London’s leading non-professional orchestra’. Mahler’s Sixth Symphony is a mammoth undertaking, coming in third I would think after Mahler 8 and the Alpine Symphony. I can only compare the technical ability of these talented amateur musicians in this ensemble with my recent experience of Mahler 6 played by the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra (review). To be honest, perhaps I was a bit too involved with the Salisbury performance, but in comparison that one seemed to be like a first rehearsal when put against The Salomon Orchestra’s apparent ‘professionalism’. It is not to say that I found it a great performance, just that it was very well played.

If readers follow the above link they will find plenty of information about Mahler’s Sixth Symphony. Most of the background information I include in my reviews is culled from that invaluable tool the www. Unfortunately not everyone makes full use of these riches, otherwise we would have been spared the error strewn programme note that attempted to justify the order of the inner movements as Scherzo-Andante rather than the ‘official line’ of A-S. Anthony Burton’s note originating in 1979 but apparently revised in 2007 states that ‘in the first edition of the published score, and again in the last performances he gave during his (Mahler’s) lifetime, he placed the Scherzo before the slow movement’ … basically wrong!

If there was ever a case for a performance of this work Andante-Scherzo this was it. I gained great admiration for the conductor, Robin O’Neill’s command of the musicians in front of him, as well the score. However it all seemed to me, well until the final pages at least, that for him it was just music and it lacked the visionary zeal of the maestro who realises that these notes actually represent the fading hopes of a life lived and the ultimate despair that possibly this existence is all there is.

Overall it was too fast. I was reminded that it is indeed an ‘eighty minute symphony’ but often does take longer. This probably lasted at least 10 minutes below the average timing. This is not a great difference considering there can be a divergence of seven minutes in different performances of the single Adagietto movement from Mahler 5, but it seemed all too hectic and on just a couple of occasions I found the various sections of the orchestra challenged to keep up and play together.

In the first movement the ominous tread seemed to give way to a triumphalist march that made me think of the Die Meistersinger Overture. More than once I imagined the cows stampeding when I heard the bells. Then came the Scherzo, and it sounded all too similar. The programme said this should be ‘dark and sinister’ and ‘eerie’ but we never really heard that. This was superficial Mahler, Mahler ohne Ironie. Things improved with the less hectic Andante which came of something as a relief after all we had heard up to this point, but even then everything seemed distinctly earthbound when we needed to be transported somewhere, who knows where, but somewhere.

With the Finale it was finally possible to spot, for those unfamiliar with Mahler, what he was getting at. Indeed ‘Do you like Mahler?’ was a frequently asked question overheard amongst the audience. This naiveté brought forth some suppressed giggling from a number of those present at the sight of the vertically-challenged percussionist and his large wooden hammer. However as this last movement progressed it seemed increasingly to express someone ‘drowning’ in quicksand struggling to keep their head up and out to fend off their last breath. It was a downward spiral that could not fail to resonate with anyone with the ears to hear what was going on. The final chord was indeed quite scary and made me think of those final words Kenneth Williams wrote in his diaries when it had all got too much: ‘What’s the bloody point?’

Throughout the Finale the virtuosity of these non-professionals remained exemplary, which was a credit to their love of music and the work that they had put into the rehearsals.

As I mentioned in a recent review I have no great love of St John’s, Smith Square, as a venue and I questioned its worth. Undoubtedly it is too small for a work this size, and for the numbers involved. The orchestra takes up several rows of the stalls and the balcony is shut due to the lighting required, but with everyone one in the orchestra possibly bringing along two guests the hall was nearly full and it was a worthwhile evening of music making for all concerned and perhaps an invitation to many in the audience to delve further into Mahler’s music. Next season they will never have a better chance when both the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic embark on what will be almost their own Mahler-thons.

Jim Pritchard