Saturday 16th October, 1999 Victoria Concert Hall |
Subscription Series
Prodigy Series/Great Classics |
|
Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH Three movements from Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Suite
Charles Camille SAINT-SAËNS Cello Concerto No.1 in A minor, op.33 Jean SIBELIUS Symphony No.2 in D major, op.43
Wendy LAW cello |
OVERALL NOISE RATING: 3 (Disobedient pen....)
The Noise Rating Index is a partially-objective measurement of pager and handphone blasts, 9pm and 10pm watch beeps, coughing-during-the-pianissimo-bits, intra-audience conversation and other mind-bogglingly inept noises emitted in the concert hall during actual performance of music. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 5, in increasing annoyance.
This review has been kindly sponsored by the Singapore Symphonia Co. Ltd
by Chia Han-Leon and the Inkpot Sibelius Nutcase
Last season, we had the fortune of listening to the young Taiwanese violinist Li Chuan Yun perform one heck of a Khachaturian Violin Concerto (reviewd here) - that made me really sit up as far as the SSO's "Prodigy Series" goes.
Ms Law did start sounding a bit "off" - the cello tone was edgy-woody, and there was just a slight touch of roughness to the playing. But she quickly warmed up to the music. Technically she is sound, with very fine articulation. Her sense of vibrato was also natural and tasteful, particularly nice in slow lyrical passages. Once warmed up, her cello demonstrated a particularly pleasant middle range, with balanced body, tone, weight and colour. Not too sumptious, just right for this music.
But above all, Ms Law's obvious commitment to the music gives a sense of safety to her performance, with not a hint of doubt at any point. She captured the "middle"-Romantic tone of the French composer while maintaining the light careful architecture of the writing. Even her trills, showcased in the "second movement", were detailed and fluid. Whereas Saint-Saëns' style has always been credited with being less than truly Romantic, Ms Law raised this music to a much more heartfelt level - there was something almost Elgarian about it. The final "movement" in particular saw some lyrically passionate playing, which nevertheless never overstepped into overindulgence. For making such a great case for this not-exactly-mainstream concerto, Ms Law deserves praise.
The SSO's accompaniment was excellent, light yet with Beethovenian strength. Even better is the example of the "second movement", where the orchestra opens with a very delicate idea. The combination of their snowflake delicacy, Ms Law's very beautiful solo as well as the conductor's light-handed control created a most lyrical picture.
Quite different was the Shostakovich! On hindsight, it seemed like a sequel to last week's Tchaikovsky symphony - loud. I won't deny that for quite a few parts, I did enjoy this performance of this unmistakably Shostakovichian music, but I think the orchestra leaves much more to be desired.
Metallic horns and dark strings (finely balanced double-basses) did give an atmospheric, essentially "fun" reading - what a horrifying scream the Passacaglia began with. Though often brilliant (perhaps too much) in tone, with strong accenting and lots of exciting rhythms, the performance seemed to want to bulldoze than anything. There isn't much to say about qualities such as transparency (even more important in the Sibelius later) - or subtlety! Conductor Richard Westefield led in an easy, unforced manner, neither flamboyant (imagine Shui Lan doing this) nor obviously impassioned - actually, I think there wasn't much for him to do sitting ontop of a runaway bulldozer... .
... On the other hand, subtlety and conductor control are important attributes to performing the Sibelius Second Symphony, quite difficult to pull off "live". The first thing that struck me was that Mr Westerfield was conducting this from memory - impressive considering some of the weird things that happen in the Andante, or the structural mammoth that is the triumphant finale.
Left: Sibelius in 1900. Strangely, smoking cigars never killed him.
The best performances of the Second make this relationship clear. But Sibelius was still a young symphonist in 1901, and this technique only really matured beginning with the Third. So, it is understandable that many performances and recordings of this popular symphony do not in fact succeed in the most ideal terms. So it is with the SSO.
I gave up expecting any transparency from the orchestra, considering its recent "habits" (and that Big Russian mood), so let's leave this aside. The pacing of the first movement was a bit "rushy" in the beginning, but improved as things went along. The strong contributions of the trumpets and trombones bode well for the finale - but I was ultimately to be somewhat disappointed. The thing is the first movement can be analysed in sonata form - so there is something structurally cohesively meaningful to the music. Unfortunately, this SSO performance did not seem to want to express this.
To my surprise, the second movement (which gives me the most problems as a listener) was the most well-done. The SSO presented an open and forward view of the opening, despite its dark foreboding atmosphere. The woodwinds (which also performed well in the Shostakovich) were rich and dark. Here the balance of colour was quite revealing of the score, and all the performers obviously had a very heartfelt vision of this movement, delivering the final section beautifully and richly sustained.
The Vivacissimo was slightly shaky, though the stringwork was the most stable. I wasn't very impressed with the oboe solo either - a lot more in terms of rubato and interpretation can be employed on nine identical B-flats. The most important thing about this movement is the bridge to the finale, and well, the transition was rather lacking in excitement and momentum. Ideally, there should be an irresistible sense of forward movement regardless of the choice of tempo, such that one feels the need to surge into the rising melody.
For a modern recording, go for Leif Segerstam's massively majestic reading with the Danish Radio Symphony on Chandos (available on a single full-priced CD or the set CHAN 7054) - listen to that orchestral landscape!
For the budget-conscious, try Eugene Ormandy's performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra on Sony Essential Classics SBK53509). An old 1958 stereo recording, but ample sound and a great, noble performance.
As it was, the SSO did rush ahead of the conductor. Actually on reflection, I don't even think they were following him at some points; on the other hand, it may seem Westerfield was oddly not even aware that he wasn't being followed(!). This brings up another point about the final movement: it is so structurally interlocked - vertically through the orchestra - that the conductor must be able to weave together the different sections. On the other hand, if the orchestra listens to itself and play their parts accordingly, the movement can actually propel itself without a conductor, since the different lines of music "conduct" each other.
But that was precisely what I felt was lacking in this performance - though the structural cohesion was more or less there, the strength of that cohesion was only so-so. Not very obvious were the underlying pulsation of the trombone "marcato" ba-ba-ba-pums or the tuba's solemn-heroic three-step figure, nor the highly effective woodwind accompaniment, nor some of the thickest windswept stringscapes (though those swirling figures raging from strings up to the flutes were quite well done) before the final poco largamente - all this a result of lack of transparency.
Trumpets... I can only say one thing - I miss Gary Peterson and Chen Jiamin! The conclusion was rather mild if fairly well-sculpted - though having said that, overcooking it is a common mistake which once earned the symphony the description of "vulgar", courtesy of Virgil Thomson. But undercooking is no good either (for a very noble performance of this conclusion, try Ormandy's recording). Oh well, I place my hands together now and pray the SSO does better for the Seventh Symphony and The Tempest next month... .
Chia Han-Leon and the Inkpot Sibelius Nutcase share one thing in common - a shortage of follicles.
This time around, the "prodigy" to be 'tested' before us was Hong Kong composer LAW Wing-Fai's daughter, Wendy Law, aged 21. Her choice of concerto was the comparatively mild-mannered Saint-Saëns No.1 - but my lousy presumptions left me unprepared for the impressive performance.
reproduced with absolutely no permission.
To be honest, this nutcase has not yet heard the Second played satisfactorily by the SSO (though both times I've heard it "live" with them, there were shouts of "bravo" at the end - maybe it's just the way it ends). This performance was not as tightly held together as I'd like. Not that the structural junctions were wrong or muddied too much, but there was something lacking in terms of a sense of purpose. You see, Sibelius' best writing contains the seeds of the end right at the beginning - the Second Symphony is based on a three-note idea which is heard in all the movements, finally "fusing" to form the majestic theme of the finale.
For a very very long time.
Which Recording?
I have this feeling some of you want recommendations... so here goes:
Back to the Classical Index!... or read more concert reviews from the Inkvault archives!
583: 20.10.1999 ©Chia Han-Leon
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