Daily Archives: 9 March, 2014

London Philharmonic Orchestra

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Ilyich Rivas

Congress Theatre, Eastbourne, 9 March 2014

The LPO have a superb track record for finding new talent, and conductor Ilyich Rivas, from Venezuela, is yet another feather in their cap. He conducted the opening Dvorak and the Shostakovich symphony without a score, yet with the panache and dexterity of a long established master. His control was impeccable and balance always apt.

He opened with Dvorak’s Scherzo capriccioso, where flair balanced steely control of rhythms, yet allowed the line to breathe. Mahler’s Blumine, originally planned for his first symphony, now stands alone but its gentle nuances and bitter-sweet qualities were caught with great sensitivity.

Shostakovich’s first symphony opened with fine solo wind playing and a real sense of bite. The Allegro provided unexpected tension, and fleetness in the outer sections. The orchestra has some superb solo players, and the oboe opening to the third movement, together with a number of cello solos were all outstanding. The long meandering transition towards the final movement was securely structured and the narrative always precise. An incisive and convincing reading from all concerned.

The first half had ended with Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto. Given the rest of the programme this seemed an odd choice and provided something of a war horse in the midst of thoroughbreds. Simon Trpceski’s approach as soloist was forthright and somewhat brash, often over-loud and, though technically accomplished, lacking in some sensitivity to musical line. The second movement was by far the most successful as it allowed the score to breathe more easily.

10th Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition

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White Rock Theatre Hastings 8 March 2014

A capacity crowd was entranced by three compelling performances by truly gifted young pianists from South Korea and Poland. During the week 44 pianists of 18 nationalities had taken part, themselves chosen from an earlier audition process.

The Piano concerto competition was for many years a class within the Hastings Musical Festival. It was eventually discontinued and was revived 10 years ago by Molly Townson. More recently, under Frank Wibaut’s enthusiastic directorship, the competition has increased in stature and has attracted a very high standard of performer. For the second time in the competition’s history the finalists performed with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, under the baton of Brian Wright.

Each performance displayed remarkable talent and insight and in one sense it was a shame that this was a competition with the inevitable singling out of a winner.

Yekwon Sunwoo, a 25year old South Korean started the proceedings with his stylish interpretation of Rachmaninov’s 3rd Piano Concerto. This was followed by Tchaikovsky’s 1st Piano Concerto confidently presented by Marcin Koziak, 24, from Poland. The final performance was the evening’s second outing for the Rachmaninov, this time played with conviction and sensitivity by 17 year old Taek Gi Lee, also from South Korea.

The overall winner, and winner of the audience prize, was Taek Gi Lee. At just 17 he is clearly a name to watch for in the future, as are the other two competitors, each of whom gave remarkable and highly enjoyable performances.

Taek Gi Lee

The jury included some distinguished members of the international musical community. This year a specially distinguished  jury member was Dame Fanny Waterman, co-founder of the Leeds International Piano Competition. Before the presentation of awards she gave a highly entertaining and insightful speech, which in itself was a joy to witness.

It is to be hoped that this competition will go from strength to strength, promoting the achievements of young performers and bringing such high quality music-making to Hastings. It is very much appreciated by local people and now deserves a wider audience and support.

SP

Bournemouth SO in Brighton

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The Dome, Brighton, 8 March 2014

An English Idyll was the selling point for this concert which began and ended with Elgar. His second Wand of Youth Suite opened the evening and its gentle melodies proved highly effective, particularly the slowly evolving line at the heart of The Little Bells. The Russian influence both musically and emotionally was evident in The Tame Bear, which led to an enthusiastic,  but well-structured, finale with the Wild Bears.

In Delius’ The Walk to the Paradise Garden, David Hill brought out the Wagnerian rather than the Debussyan influences, making the whole seem heavier and more sombre in its unfolding than is often the case. Perhaps it was in contrast to the heady lightness of Tasmin Little’s playing of The Lark Ascending. This is not only Vaughan Williams’ most popular work but one of the all-time favourites, regularly at the top of the charts. That it has a potentially serious side too often goes unnoticed. Though drafted in 1914, before the massacres of the war, it seems to reflect the silence and emptiness of the countryside, the folk tunes a ghosted memory of the men who worked the land. It was both moving and lyrical as it spun its way ever upward.

T Little

After the interval David Hill brought us a strangely disparate view of Elgar’s first symphony. The first two movements were brash, fast and often over loud. There was very little sense of rubato in the approach and no portamento in the string sections. As such it was over-modern and aggressive. However the Adagio found a much better sense of style and balance, with the tempo not only relaxed but having a far finer sense of flow. This moved into the final movement which at last felt like Elgar and the nobility of the work was allowed to blossom.

The individual items were introduced by Petroc Trelawny. As the concert was not being broadcast one has to ask why? It added nothing to our experience of the music and his inability to get simple facts correct was irritating.

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra return to the Dome next year.