SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Tchaikovsky and Britten: Elspeth Dutch (Horn) Toby Spence (Tenor) City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons (Conductor) Symphony Hall Birmingham, 18.6.2009 (GR)

Tchaikovsky: Fantasy Overture Romeo and Juliet, Symphony No 2 (Little Russian) in C minor

Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings


As the first full season of Andris Nelsons’ tenure as Music Director of the CBSO draws to a close, this concert confirmed the respect the Latvian conductor has earned from the Birmingham public. What qualities have justified this admiration? There is enthusiasm of course, as might be expected from a thirty year old, but essentially it is the passion he so engagingly transmits to the audience, whatever the repertoire. These virtues were evident on June 18^th 2009.

The evening began with Tchaikovsky’s Fantasy Overture Romeo and Juliet, but this performance was not just a fill-in. The drama of Shakespeare, so often an inspiration for opera and programme music, infused the auditorium. Fantasy? Well, many of the mental images intended by Tchaikovsky were vividly conveyed by the CBSO to me. For example, the religioso introduction of the Friar Lawrence theme immediately implanted a sense of the tragedy to come. Then out of the tension generated by the warring factions of the Montagues and the Capulets, Nelsons, with vast gyratory motion of both baton and arms inflated both orchestra and audience anticipation, bursting into one of the most familiar love themes in all music. So familiar, yet always uplifting! When the respective families of the lovers resumed their hostilities the sound was truly ferocious, possibly the most intense rendition I have experienced from this piece – clashing cymbals and feverish tremolo strings indicated the problems that Romeo and Juliet faced. After the recapitulation of the love theme, subdued yet all the more tender for it, the closing chords left little doubt of the tragic conclusion.

The Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings from Benjamin Britten followed. If, like me, you enjoy the combination of poetry and music (and from a wholly home-grown source) this piece must surely rank high on your appreciation list. The Prologue for solo horn was haunting and evoked the mysteries of the night, the theme of Britten’s Op 31. Blowing in the vagaries spelt out by the subsequent six verse settings was Elspeth Dutch, principal horn of the CBSO. Although still under thirty, she seems to have been around much longer, such is her rising reputation. Quoted in the programme notes to suffer from concert nerves, these were not apparent: she was  in complete control over the whole natural harmonic range of her instrument.

The first vocal setting was Pastoral, the music of Britten a perfect match to the lyrical description by Charles Cotton of The day’s gone old. The soloist was Toby Spence, an English style tenor to the core; his excellent diction and dolcissimo voice matching the serenity of the seventeenth century lines. The contrasting mood of Tennyson’s Nocturne saw Dutch responding to Spence’s request of Bugle, blow; answer, echoes, dying, dying – the diminuendo on the final dying from both soloists and strings so very poignant.

With the chromaticism and sliding notes Britten had scored for the horn in Elegy, Dutch evoked a sinister picture, so descriptive of the invisible worm depicted by William Blake. Spence confirmed the metaphorical message of nature and human love so typical of the poetry of this true romantic. The blue-eyed boy of English opera competently handled the high tessitura of Dirge, the fourth song, although I thought a there could have been a bit more variation in tone and colour here; it was rather anonymous like the author of the Olde Englishe verse.

The lively Hymn from the pen of Ben Johnson demonstrated how well tuned both soloists were to each other and to their string accompaniment – the difficult runs of both horn and tenor line crisp and clear. This mood was in sharp contrast with that evoked by Keats’ Sonnet; I thought Spence and the CBSO strings created an ethereal atmosphere from the author’s curious conscience battling against the final sleep. The closing hushèd casket of my Soul cast a spell over the Symphony Hall, a spell that the final off-stage Epilogue from Dutch failed to dissolve. As the horn strains faded, Nelsons froze the moment (and the audience.) One to remember.

If Britten’s masterpiece needed the listener’s full attention, the second half that comprised the Symphony No 2 in C minor by Tchaikovsky did not – it was a pleasure just to  sit back and enjoy the glorious Ukrainian folk tunes that form the frame on which the ‘Little Russian’ is constructed. As the first movement began with a horn solo in the Andante sostenuto section, I wondered if this was an oblique link in programme content (the concert title of ‘Little Russian’ was hardly inspirational). Snappy chords dominated the continuing Allegro vivo section – the jubilation of the Cossacks was infectious. Nelsons had drilled his CBSO players well for the Marziale second movement and they were on their toes for the busy Scherzo that followed. After a majestic opening the Finale yet another folk tune (The Crane) emerged. Here the lightness of touch from the orchestra contrasted vividly with the heavy chords that build  to the huge climax.

Both the Tchaikovsky pieces were enjoyable, but the night belonged to the Britten tour de force. How well Elspeth Dutch and Toby Spence communicated the message of the poetic language.

Geoff Read


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