There was a disappointing attendance at this unusual concert by the Gürzenich Orchestra. Advance ticket sales were so poor that the Upper Circle was closed and the ticket-holders there reseated in the Stalls.

The inclusion of a Zimmerman piece -- a German composer virtually unknown to UK audiences -- may have deterred some, while others may have decided they had heard enough Richard Strauss from the orchestra in its main role in Capriccio at the Festival Theatre.

What was offered in the Usher Hall was a varied programme that allowed the Gürzenich opportunities to use strengths not possible from the opera pit.

A cracking start came with Till Eulenspiegel, where brass and drums produced a hall-filling volume that made the audience sit up.

It was followed by Zimmerman's Photoptosis but not straight away.

First we had conductor Markus Stenz give a detailed explanation of an avant garde work by a man he called the most important composer of the last century. A cogent account of its origins -- shimmering impressions of light falling on a blue-painted wall -- vivid phraseology ( "quarter notes, that's the specks of dirt between the black and white keys") and explicit warning of the vast wall of sound to come ("This is something you can only hear here. There's no hi-fi that could cope with it") did much to prepare us to listen intelligently.

He was right about the volume. The magnitude was stunning and almost equalled by the applause that followed.

The guide dog stretched out in the aisle immediately in front of me had been immobile and impassive during the Strauss. But its tail wagged furiously and at length after Zimmerman.

Schumann's Rhenish Symphony, which came after the interval, was something of an anti-climax.

It would be unfair to criticise the performance, which included some masterly horn passages, but it lacked the fire of the two earlier works. It was more than competent, just missing that little extra edge to lift it well clear of the ordinary
.
There was similar disappointment with the closing item, three Strauss songs sung by the Austrian
soprano Gabriele Fontana. It was unrealistic to expect a repeat of her ravishing final aria in Capriccio but expectations were high.

Perhaps she is more at home on the operatic stage than the concert platform as she seemed to rely on having a score in front of her. It may have been lack of familiarity, but an excellent tone and warmth of voice did not quite convey the enchantment of Das Rosenband or the outright eroticism of Cäcilie.

Concert Date: 31 August 2007

© Iain Gilmour 2 September 2007. First published on EdinburghGuide.com