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SEEN AND HEARD
CONCERT REVIEW
Edinburgh International Festival 2010 (3)
- Nielsen and Wagner: Petra Lang (mezzo), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo (conductor). Usher Hall, 15.8.2010 (SRT)
The Finns arrive at the Festival with plenty of Nordic grandeur in Nielsen and Wagner. Their reading of the “Inextinguishable” symphony crackled with electricity throughout, the fallout provoking thunderous cheers after the astonishing final peroration. With its hell-for-leather opening and its finale of duelling timps this is a work that can easily be misread as an endless burst of energy. True, there was power aplenty in Oramo’s reading, not least the granite-like string playing in the third movement, to say nothing of the opening outburst; but Nielsen was always clear that the “Inextinguishable” life force of the title represents life in all its (rather unspecific) fullness and that there is room for reflection and beauty here too. Indeed the orchestra toned down their sound beautifully for the delectable dance in the allegretto and there was some gorgeously mellow string tone in the solo interlude of the third movement. This orchestra’s distinctive sound carries its own special colour: the horn playing in Helios was incredibly special: burnished and reflective without losing their reflective gloss. The rest of the orchestra then built their sound around this so that there was a glorious sense of an organic whole growing from a secure base. This meant that when the dangerous passages came in the symphony there was a firm anchor that grounded the sound and the musical quality increased correspondingly. During the two Sibelius encores (Valse Triste and the Scene with Cranes) it was the strings’ turn to form the foundation and the effect was just as exhilarating.
It was, in fact, the orchestra who provided the best contribution to the Wesendonck Lieder, especially in Träume which was very beautiful. Petra Lang is an artist of the highest order but she showed an unsettling habit of swooping up to the note; a pity as her gleaming voice was more than capable of pinging every note and was thrilling when she did so. The finest collaboration was In Treibhaus where Lang acted as well as singing beautifully and Oramo proved himself to be as adept an accompanist as a director. An evening of subtlety as well as splendour.
Simon Thompson