Fresh from a packed summer at the Royal Albert Hall, the BBC Symphony Orchestra has hardly had time to breathe before the winter season is upon us, but given the enthusiasm they brought to Mahler’s 3rd Symphony you could be forgiven for thinking they had spent the summer on the beach.
The sense of joy and excitement in the work radiated throughout, much of it emanating from Sakari Oramo. Sitting slightly to one side gave me a rather better view of the conductor than is often the case and I was struck by the number of times he was beaming at the players, almost carried away by the exuberance of the music. But there was no sense of emotional wallowing here. The opening movement was notable above all for its precision and clean lines. The passion came out of this sense of control rather than being allowed to run riot. If there are passages which seem over-naïve then they are meant to be and the clash of innocence and dramatic struggle against dark forces is ever present. Moments of pastoral lushness seemed all the more indulgent in the surrounding tension. The end of the first part was frenetic and exhilarating.
By contrast the second movement seemed self-indulgent in its beauty, and this lightness was carried over into the third movement even where the writing is dense and wild. The off-stage trumpet was finely balanced and led us gently towards O Mensch. Karen Cargill eased the text into the hall with great beauty of line but without becoming over-spiritual. The combined women’s voices of the BBCSO Chorus and Trinity Boys Choir brought jollity to the bells before the sudden change of mood into the final movement What God tells me. This finale was lovingly crafted with a sense of inevitability that never relapsed into the sentimental.
A magnificent performance with some exceptional solo playing – in particular the solo trombone of Helen Vollam.
And for all that we love the Proms – what a pleasure to be back at the Barbican in an acoustic which enables us to hear detail and value individual players in a way which we can never do at the RAH.