SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Delius, Elgar and Vaughan Williams: Nikolaj Znaider (violin), Hallé Orchestra, Sir Mark Elder (conductor). Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 14.10.2010 (MC)

 

Delius - Idylle de Printemps (1889)
Elgar - Violin Concerto, Op. 61 (1910)
Vaughan Williams - Symphony No. 2 ‘A London Symphony’ (1913, revised version 1936)


Buoyed by their recent success in the Gramophone Awards 2010 the Hallé Orchestra is continuing to build their international reputation under music director Sir Mark Elder. A concert of music by English born composers was on the menu for this well attended Hallé Thursday Series at the Bridgewater Hall.

A surprise to me was the Delius piece on the programme; a pleasant surprise at that and after a hundred and twenty years a Hallé première too. Delius’s Idylle de Printemps (A Spring Idyll) is an orphan piece that no one seemed to want to hear. Subtitled by the composer as a Morceau symphonique this symphonic fragment, played splendidly by the Hallé and headily perfumed with sweet pastoral ardour, could easily serve as an interlude to a Delius opera.

The composition of the first symphony interrupted Elgar’s work on his violin concerto; a score dedicated to the renowned virtuoso Fritz Kreisler. Tonight Nikolaj Znaider was using the 1741 Guarneri del Gesù which is the same violin on which Kreisler gave the première one hundred years ago with the composer conducting at the Queens Hall, London. Znaider who is touring with this concerto has already made a recording with the Dresden Staatskapelle/Sir Colin Davis in 2009 from the Lukaskirche, Dresden on RCA Red Seal. (See disc review) And it was for their recording of the Elgar violin concerto that Sir Mark and the Hallé with soloist Thomas Zehetmair won the prestigious 2010 Gramophone ‘Concerto’ Award. (See disc review.)

Znaider displayed a stunning virtuosity in the demanding Elgar concerto whilst providing a liberal amount of late-romantic expression. At times passages of rapt and lyrical beauty sent a shiver down the spine; the effect was riveting. The ‘ex-Kreisler’ Guarneri has a glorious velvety tone but it didn’t cut through the auditorium as much as I expected until Znaider added weight in the final movement. With light accompaniment the remarkable cadenza was gloriously played demonstrating Znaider’s mastery of the instrument. Soloist, conductor and orchestra combined to create an instinctive musical alliance. After the concentration and emotional intensity of the Andante you could hear a pin drop.

Vaughan Williams’s Symphony No. 2 ‘A London Symphony’ is a much revised score. Today we normally hear the version with as much as twenty minutes of music cut from the original 1913 score. I was captivated by Mark Elder’s reading from the first bar to the last bringing out qualities of warmth and lyricism that sounded fresh and natural. I loved the swinging forward momentum of the score with tempo changes made with unforced fluidity. Elder shapes the sound quite marvellously. Some of the playing from the Hallé in the opening movement made the hairs stand up on the back of the neck; such was the intensity and emotional content. Following the ethereal opening of the slow movement the effect of the passage for the single trumpet and horn playing over the strings was remarkable. Said to evoke Bloomsbury Square, the atmospheric music better depicted bleak Fen country on a grey and misty, autumn morning.

Moulded expertly by Elder the prominent and introverted Scherzo gains in confidence and becomes more daring. Elgar was certainly making full use of his glorious dance-like melodies. The opening of the final movement builds with increasing power and tension. I enjoyed the passage that evoked the heady sights and sounds of the crowded London streets. After the ‘Westminster chimes’ on the harp the Epilogue reveals mystery, uncertainty and tension before fading away to nothing. The Bridgewater Hall audience readily acknowledged experiencing a towering performance of a great symphony.

Under Sir Mark Elder the Hallé Orchestra have clearly worked hard to achieve their outstanding standard of performance. Eschewing flamboyance and histrionics Mark Elder exudes assurance and a calm authority combined with immaculate preparation. The wide variety of colours that Elder and the Hallé obtain is highly impressive. Especially noticeable is the silky smooth timbre of the string section; clear and radiant; not dominated from below by the cello and double basses. Expressive and responsive the woodwind section is out of the top drawer and the outstandingly toned brass manage their volume without bombast.

 

Michael Cookson