SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Mozart: Maria João Pires (piano), Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Trevor Pinnock (conductor), Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 13.5.2010 (SRT)

Mendelssohn: The Fair Melusine

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4

Mozart: Symphony No. 39

This concert marks a triumphant end to the SCO’s 2009-10 season. Period specialist Trevor Pinnock isn’t a regular with the orchestra but he always has something interesting to say. With his interest in transparency and authenticity it wasn’t surprising that he reduced the orchestra in size (12 violins, 4 violas and cellos, 2 double basses) so that the gossamer textures of The Fair Melusine were even lighter than normal and it brought home what a fantastic scene-painter Mendelssohn was, the endless woodwind ripples sounding endlessly evocative. However the distinctive rasp and thwack of natural brass and timps meant that the storm and stress of the counter-theme stood out in marked contrast. Pinnock’s direction came into its own for Mozart’s Symphony No. 39, one of the most gloriously upbeat statements in music. He kept the introduction moving along but was all grace and refinement for the violins’ main theme, as for the conversational to and fro of the slow movement. However the colour and sparkle of the finale bristled with humorous touches, especially the winds who pointed up their contributions with gleeful wit.

Pinnock’s beat wasn’t always as easy to follow in Beethoven’s fourth piano concerto, but in Maria João Pires he was joined by a pianist of rare intelligence and insight. Her unutterably gentle rebuke to the strings in the Andante was incredibly moving, every sinew of her body suggesting communion with the music and with the instrument itself. However the sense of a journey in the first movement was the most successful part of a marvellous evening: after the piano’s purposeful introduction the strings entered in the most gentle, almost nervous manner, searching for the path as well as the home key. The start of the development was full of uncertainty and searching enquiry, the orchestra almost tiptoeing around the soloist, before the confident recapitulation, the dazzling cadenza and a coda during which it felt that goals had been successfully achieved.

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra have a number of summer festival appearances planned, including the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival. Their new season begins with Robin Ticciati conducting Don Giovanni on 7^th October 2010. For full details go to www.sco.org.uk

Simon Thompson.