JAMES MUNRO wishes the SCO had stuck to the Classical era.

THE SCOTTISH Chamber Orchestra’s annual visit to the Spa Pavilion has earned its position as a much anticipated event, and although Thursday’s concert was slightly later in the year than in past summers this only served to increase the anticipation in the village. In return the orchestra were in top form and gave a performance that will stay in the memory, even if for two different reasons.

For these three concerts in the 2010 Highland Tour, the others being in Thurso and Kingussie, the SCO were joined by their former leader, the Austrian virtuoso Alexander Janiczek as director and soloist. There can be no doubt that the concentration demanded of the musicians by the lack of somebody waving a baton at them increases their rapport and, in this case, delivered an evening of supreme quality.

Beethoven was not renowned for composing ballet music, indeed other than a youthful ghost-written work for Count Waldstein, his only example in that genre was the opener of this concert, The Creatures of Prometheus, his first Viennese success. It was a crisp, pacy atmospheric set of an overture and a selection of dances that was remarkably reminiscent of Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony with its tempest and pastoral sections.

Janiczek had the measure of Beethoven’s themes and the orchestra were inspired to follow his example, especially during an excellent clarinet solo from Maximillano Martin. The music was sublime; the difficulty was imagining a company dancing to it.

The only thing that the other two composers in Thursday’s programme shared was a middle name. Karl Amadeus Hartmann was a twentieth century Munchener who managed to avoid the attentions of the Nazi Party in public but was much more avant-garde in private, as might be expected from a pupil of Anton Webern.

His Violin Concerto, or Concerto Funebre is not often performed, which is not a great surprise, for it is a rather tuneless example of the music of its time, and its time is not now. Conrad Wilson’s programme notes suggested that the opening quoted the Hussite anthem from Smetana’s Ma Vlast. It must be a somewhat obscure quotation.

Hartmann claimed that this concerto was designed to reflect the “intellectual and spiritual hopelessness of the period, contrasted with an expression of hope”. Desolate, sombre and abrasive sums it up, no matter how well it was performed by Alexander Janiczek and the strings of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

By contrast, after the interval, the better known composer with the middle name of Amadeus had his final symphony, Symphony No 41, “Jupiter”, performed. Mozart is food and drink to the SCO and they have recorded his several times, with the most recent under Sir Charles Mackerras being nominated for a Grammy Award.

With Alexander Janiczek directing this performance of the Jupiter was flawless. The strings were precise, the wind provided the perfect foil and the distinctive tones of the natural horns and trumpets gave the sound such an exemplary character.

As the saying goes, the Beethoven and Mozart elements of this concert were “to die for” - it is just a pity that the orchestra had to provide their own funeral music when there are so many obscure violin concerti in the repertoire that would both challenge and entertain the audience. [in fairness, should say that I enjoyed the Hartmann concerto rather more than James – Ed.] 

© James Munro, 2010

Links

• Scottish Chamber Orchestra