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Royal
Scottish National Orchestra Concert
Music: Arvo Pärt:
Fratres; Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini; Sibelius:
Symphony No.1
Performers: Nikolai Lugansky (piano); RSNO (Royal Scottish National
Orchestra), Eri Klas (conductor)
Venue: Usher Hall, Lothian Road, Edinburgh
Dates: 09 November 2001
Reviewer: Pat Napier
Eri Klas |
In the deeply
musical hands of the Estonian conductor Eri Klas, the RSNO reached new
heights with this sparkling programme of music from Baltic countries.
The orchestra obviously loved playing with him and showed it by adding
their compliments to the audience's applause at the end.
Fratres, composed in 1977, absorbed the deeply mystical, pious,
intellectual Pärt so much that, by 1982, he had reworked its themes
for several different instrumental combinations. His minimalist approach,
using very few elements (which he dubbed 'tintinnabulation'), resulted
here in an intensely moving, attractive work full of almost-Medieval
spirituality, whose hymn-like theme floated over an insistent drone
punctuated by repeated strikes on the Chinese block. Interestingly,
the oft-neglected back desks of the cellos and basses were given important
parts, with each of the two playing different notes. But the overall
impact of the piece was a symmetrical arch of music peaking in the middle
to die away into a silence which was held for a few magic moments.
The 18th Variation of Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
is so well known that it tends to distract the listener from the fact
that the work is really a concerto which uses the wonderfully-inventive
theme of the last of Paganini's Twenty-four caprices for violin as
its starting point. The equally fertile Dies irae from the traditional
Gregorian Mass for the dead provides the ending of each 'movement'
and the bridge into the next one.
Nikolai
Lugansky |
The young
Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky, already a master of Rachmaninov's
music with several award-winning CDs under his belt, gave us a glittering,
polished performance. From his skeletal accompaniment to the violins'
first statement of the Theme, through the piano's conversational dialogue
with the orchestra, then the glorious dreamy inversion of the theme
in No.18, to the final spooky set of variations juxtaposing Paganiniana
with the Dies irae, Lugansky had us all in his spell. We were
given one further Rachmaninov treat in the encore, when the Moment
musicale No.4 cascaded gloriously into the hall.
The pale, crisp glitter of vast snow-bound expanses and the subtle gradations
of tone and icy colour all sprang into life in Sibelius' very abstract
First synphony, reminding me very vividly of Klee's magical,
musical paintings. Eri Klas knew exactly how to direct the orchestra
to invoke these very evocative mental images.
This very accomplished first symphonic work contained the germs of much
of Sibelius' later music in that we could glimpse fragments of Finlandia,
the Karelia suite and the 5th symphony to name but
a few. As a violinist himself, Sibelius saw to it that the strings carried
the action. His orchestration was tight, masterly and deeply subtle,
contrasting the seductive wind and brass melodies with his distinctive
subtle changes of mood and key, something he would do throughout his
career. The finale was most expansive and satisfying. Eri Klas's calling
the oboe to take the first of the solo and sectoral bows underscored
the contribution of the wind and brass to this most delightful symphony.
© Pat Napier. 10 November 2001
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