SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Beethoven: An evening of Beethoven in aid of The Stroke Association, Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra, Robin Browning (conductor), Charles Owen (piano), Cadogan Hall, London 2. 3. 2008 (MMB)

Ludwig van Beethoven  – Egmont Overture, Opus 84 (1809-10) – Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major “The Emperor”, Opus 73 (1809) – Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Opus 67 (1808)

This evening of Beethoven given by the Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra in aid of the Stroke Association was, as the name indicates, a benefit concert to support an important cause. The Stroke Association is a national charity dedicated to helping people suffering stroke and their families cope with the often devastating consequences. They also support scientific research and raise public awareness. The printed programme was free, which was a nice gesture, however a small price would perhaps have been a good idea, in order to raise extra funds. There were also plenty of leaflets available detailing the work of the charity, as well as a raffle. The Stroke Association have a good website www.stroke.org.uk which is worth a visit for anyone wanting to find out more or make a donation.

The  works in the  concert were played in reverse order to their dates of composition and had a suitable heroic theme in common, as if to highlight the strength needed to deal with stroke and its aftermath. The evening began the  Egmont Overture,  part of the Incidental Music that Beethoven composed for Goethe’s play Egmont (1788). When as commission was offered to write music for the play, the composer grabbed at the opportunity as its general subject matter, the struggle for freedom, appealed to him. Goethe’s play depicts the Spanish persecution of the people of the Netherlands in 1567-68 via the Inquisition. Count Egmont, a Catholic, loyal to Spain, travels to Madrid and pleads tolerance from the Spanish king who instead dispatches the cruel Duke of Alva to command the forces to maintain order. Egmont is eventually arrested, sentenced to death and decapitated in Brussels in 1568.

The Overture begins with a sombre, serious mood; the music appears to portray oppression. The opening motif seems to reveal the tyrant but it does not take long for the tempo to increase, resulting in a vigorous Allegro, which shifts the mood to one of heroic defiance, ready to do battle. However, the tyrant’s motif never disappears entirely; it evolves throughout the overture and, near the end, it gains a strong rhythmical presence, almost sinister, announcing Egmont’s execution. Robin Browning and the Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra started in a slightly hesitant manner and to my mind the darkness of the beginning was lost, however they picked up the heroic, defiant mood of the Allegro and were able to capture the tyrant's underlying  and always sombre presence for the rest of the piece; the rhythm suitably marked, almost as an intense funeral march to lead very effectively into the mood of the finale, which is triumphant, announcing that Egmont did not die in vain, and bringing  the work to a glorious close.

Beethoven's  Piano Concerto No. 5  followed.  Nicknamed “The Emperor”, though   not by Beethoven himself,  the title  undoubtedly evokes the work’s impressive and majestic scale. The concerto is considerably demanding technically but it is very much more than a virtuoso vehicle for a pianist. The piece is symphonic in conception and grandeur, written, like the composer’s  Eroica  Symphony in E flat major, which seems to me to give the concerto its expansive, heroic and grand character. The soloist was Charles Owen, a distinguished pianist with an impressive curriculum, including excellent collaborations with Sarah Chang, Chloe Hanslip and Natalie Clein among others, and critically praised solo work, as for example his excellent first solo disc, featuring piano music by Janácek.

Mr Owen executed the three introductory chords of the concerto wonderfully in an effective dialogue with the orchestra which appeared very assured in the lengthy development that follows, suitably capturing and delivering the symphonic character of the piece. He played the first movement Allegro, expressively, effectively negotiating its waves of scales, arpeggios and trills, though these were at times a little hesitant. I felt  his interpretation of the second movement, Adagio – un poco mosso,  to be  more accomplished; he delivered the lyrical, poetic lines with sensibility, creating a dolce effect, without slowing it down too much, and offering the audience a delicate, moving interpretation. The third and final movement, Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo was performed effectively though I had the impression on one occasion that a couple of notes were not so distinctly played. This lasted only for a split second however and the piece was completed faultlessly and beautifully. This was not a particularly new interpretation of the “Emperor” but Mr. Owen had a solid technique, effectively conveying the heroic mood. It was an accomplished, pleasing performance which communicated a sense of wonder and playfulness throughout the concerto, reflecting the performer's own  delight in the piece, as  he  seemed to be   truly enjoying himself. There was a good rapport between pianist and conductor, which resulted in an excellent supportive performance by the Wimbledon musicians, expertly and assuredly led by Mr Browning.

The concert closed with Beethoven’s magnificent Symphony No. 5 in C minor in which the orchestra and Robin Browning delivered a rock solid, compelling performance, particularly during the famous first movement, Allegro con brio. Mr Browning’s conducting style is intense and energetic and here he  led  his  players into a convincing and enthusiastic delivery of the piece. He injected power throughout, particularly during the fourth and final movement, Allegro – Presto, fluently expressing the relentless climb towards the C major triumph at the start of the finale, competently delivering the movements grandeur and the irresistible drive to the glorious, vigorous ending. The orchestra was laid out in the standard way, but to my mind, the performance might have benefited from an antiphonal placement of the violins, with the double basses split between the far left and the far right.

The hall was nearly full, a fine achievement for a benefit concert, and while the performances did not inject anything strikingly original into  these  Beethoven classics, they certainly delivered what they set out to achieve -  a pleasant, and worthy evening of music given for  a very worthy cause.

Margarida Mota-Bull

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