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A Celebration of Bernstein: Bernstein and Korngold: Margaret McDonald (mezzo soprano), Lifei Huang (violin), Chetham's Symphony Orchestra, Stephen Threlfall, Cadogan Hall, London, 24.10.2008 (BBr)

Leonard Bernstein: Divertimento (1980)
Symphony No.1, Jeremiah (1942)
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Violin Concerto in D, op.35 (1945)
Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (1961)


A  composer friend of mine recently said to me, "Bernstein the conductor, yes please! Bernstein the composer, no thank you," And I have to agree with him to some extent because his concert work, with a couple of exceptions, leaves me cold, but put Bernstein in a Broadway theatre and there's a fine composer at work. And my misgivings were proven, in spades, as it were, with the Divertimento which opened this Celebration of Bernstein. This work, which consists of eight very short movements, which never fulfill any promise they might have, seemed trite and it was unfair to give it to the Chetham's Orchestra for it made it sound like a bad school orchestra - which it certainly isn't. There simply wasn't sufficient music, or musical interest, for the players to get their teeth into. It was hard to believe that this work was written as recently as 1980 for it seemed to be the work of a much younger, much less experienced, composer. It was meant to be humorous - the quote of the oboe solo from the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, for instance - but it fell flat. It would have served the orchestra, and the audience, much better if we'd been given the Symphonic Suite from his music for Kazan's On the Waterfront.

I am pleased to report that when the music got better the performance standard improved a thousand–fold. Jeremiah, Bernstein's 1st Symphony, is one of his earliest works – it must rank as his opus 2 or 3 – and it has all the intelligence needed for real symphonic thought. A big orchestra is used with such skill, and the music is worked out with such wonderful logic, that I found myself feeling that here was an entrant for the title of Great American Symphony. It really could be a contender! The first movement worked out its material in music of such passion that, in this performance, it was almost too much to bear - but it must be noted that much of the string writing could be straight out of Roy Harris's 3rd Symphony, written a couple of years earlier, and surely the Great American Symphony. Bernstein carries us along with his closely involved argument only to launch into a scherzo of such violence that the whole mood of religious contemplation was broken for good. The last movement is a setting of the Lamentations of Jeremiah with a mezzo solo. Margaret McDonald was a good soloist who employed a wide vibrato – which came dangerously close to wobble – and she, rather annoyingly for me, "acted" the music for us. Her voice has all the musicality she needed to interpret his music and her invocations with her hands, to the Almighty were an almighty irritant. At its 1944 premiere this work was an incredible success and so it was tonight. The orchestra played its collective heart out, believing in every note and giving a superb performance.

I am never one to complain when a work by Korngold is played and it was good to hear the sublime Violin Concerto once again, but I wonder why it was in a Celebration of Bernstein. Did Bernstein ever conduct any Korngold? But why worry, for a performance of such stature as this was exactly what one wished to hear at this point. Lifei Huang is a student at Chethams, she can only be about 18 years old, but she plays like a professional with years of experience behind her. This work gave her ample opportunity to display her strengths – a strong bowing arm, full rich tone on her G-string, ethereal beauty on the E-string and an abandon and virtuosity when required. Perhaps she lacked the subtlety to really make the slow movement sing as it should but no matter, she was brimming over with passion, reminding one of the young Jacqueline du Pré – didn't Barbirolli say that if you haven't got passion at this early age when can you be expected to have it? JB went on to say that he loved it - and so do I! I am not ashamed to tell you that such was the glory of this performance that I had tears of joy in my eyes throughout. Tonight we heard a star very much in the ascendant and what an auspicious London debut! This young woman should go far!

To end, the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story - surely Bernstein's magnum opus. Because the tunes in this show are so good it's easy to forget just what an effect the dancing has in carrying forward the drama, and there really is a lot of it. This suite contains most of the dance music, arranged for a very large orchestra, and it works both as a suite from the show and as a tone poem depicting New York. This was a splendid performance, the brass, in particular, sounding like a big band and making much of the exuberant writing. The percussion department had a field day displaying all the verve and excitement it brings to the mambo, Cool and the Rumble. There are, of course. many tender moments in the score and I have a love, which brings the suite to a close, underpinned by the augmented fourth - the diabolus in music - which holds the score together, was of such epic simplicity that the audience sat in gobsmacked silence at the tragedy of the matter.

A disappointingly small audience went wild after this, and so it should have for this was a fine show, with some excellent playing and very intelligent direction from Stephen Threlfall. As an encore we were given the first dance from On the Town where the various solo instrumentalists stood, as they would in a real dance band, to deliver their solos. There were moments in West Side Story where this would also have been appropriate and would have heightened the musical experience.

Well done Chethams for a very enjoyable show and for reminding us that it's not only London which has fine young music makers.

Bob Briggs


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