SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Other Links

Editorial Board

Google Site Search

Internet MusicWeb

Stravinsky, Ibert, Mendelsohn and Beethoven: Emmanuel Pahud (flute), BBC National Orchestra of Wales /Thierry Fischer, Cheltenham Town Hall, 20.9.2008 (RJ)


"Dazzling but insubstantial!" - that is how the critics of the day reacted to Stravinsky's youthful Scherzo fantastique. Nowadays - with the benefit of hindsight -  modern audiences are able to appreciate the promise of things to come in the brilliantly orchestrated passages which anticipate the fine scores he composed for Diaghilev's Ballet Russes.

Another advantage we have is that  modern orchestras and conductors are familiar with the Stravinsky sound and can take Stravinsky's musical acrobatics in their stride. Certainly Swiss conductor Thierry Fischer and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales had no trouble at all in making the outer parts sound exciting and approachable. The trio, by contrast, was firmly within the Russian Romantic tradition.

In the  Concerto for Flute and Orchestra by Jacques Ibert the soloist was Fischer's compatriot, Emmanuel Pahud. Ibert is a versatile composer whose music - full of Gallic wit and brilliance - deserves a much wider audience. I have to admit to being  perturbed at the large size of the orchestra, fearing it would drown out the flute passages, but I need not have worried. Fischer, a flautist himself, managed to balance his musical forces in an exemplary fashion and the extrovert Mr Pahud was more than able to hold his own. The animated opening  was followed by a gentler rhapsodic theme and and later the movement led to moments of tension and high drama. The slow movement had a wistful other-worldly feel with delicate playing from the soloist counterbalanced with muted sounds from the orchestra. The explosive finale was full of high jinks and jazzy synchopations in which the flute seemed to dance incessantly. One could only sit back awestruck at Mr Pahud's extraordinary, virtuoso performance.

The inclusion of Mendelssohn and Beethoven in the programme was clearly designed to attract timid music lovers who might have been frightened away by Stravinsky and Ibert. But Mendelssohn's Overture The Hebrides is always worth hearing and Thierry Fisher breathed new life into the familiar music in his depiction of the ever-changing character of the sea climaxing with a gripping evocation of the sea at its most turbulent.

I have heard Beethoven's Fifth so often that I feared I might fall asleep during the final part of the programme. However, there was something about Mr Fischer's conducting which made me sit up and take notice. The familiar first movement was taken at a brisk pace, but the musicians responded well to his urging and there was no loss of clarity in their playing.

The following movement was more leisurely, with impressive attention to detail and a wide range of colour and rhythmical variety. The orchestra almost seemed to disappear into thin air at the end of the scherzo, but that extreme pianissimo served to increase the impact of the boisterous finale which had the audience cheering.

There can be no doubt that the boyish looking Thierry Fischer and the BBC NOW make a great team and that the orchestra is attaining high standards of excellence under his dynamic leadership.

Roger Jones 

Roger Jones review classical music for the UK newspaper, The Gloucestershire Echo.

Back to Top                                                    Cumulative Index Page