After a few years of absence, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra returned to town on Friday thanks to Music at Oxford. The orchestra grew steadily in size and reputation since Elgar conducted its inaugural concert in 1920, but it became one of the UK’s finest ensembles when it was headed by Sir Simon Rattle (now the director of the Berliner Philharmoniker).
Since 2008, the young Andris Nelsons has been its Music Director, and his almost flawless performance this week – part of a string of highly-acclaimed live performances and recordings – showed that the orchestra’s worldwide reputation will only grow under this new leadership.
The performance opened with Mussorgsky’s Night on a Bare Mountain, no doubt familiar to most people as a nightmarish work adopted by a plethora of films, adverts and bands. Although it is difficult to block out the sound of cliché that can’t help but present itself in such a piece, the intimate nature of the Sheldonian gave this devilish music an impact that bordered on the right side of overwhelming. Nelsons handling of the orchestra’s remarkably refined sound also brought out the great colours offered by Rimsky-Korsakov’s orchestration.
Also on the programme of Russian music was Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. The sorrow of the first movement perfectly complemented the Mussorgsky, and, after a beautiful horn solo by Elspeth Dutch in the second movement, the finale was played with such triumph that it won’t soon be forgotten. There were moments when the music could have been played with greater tenderness, but perhaps the music would have sounded softer in a larger venue like Birmingham’s own Symphony Hall.
The highlight of the evening was the piece sandwiched by the two giants above – Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto, with Baiba Skride as soloist. It acted as a great bridge between the two other pieces, with its grotesque first movement executed by Skride with an ironically sweet tone on her Stradivarius ‘Wilhelmj’ violin (1725). Even her sombre-looking green dress fitted the music, and her wonderfully energetic playing of the demonic Scherzo had the audience gasping by the climax.
By the time Skride had negotiated the cadenza of the third movement, speaking through her violin as though Shostakovich himself had told her how to play, it became clear that she is a serious contender. Since David Oistrakh’s famous recording of the concerto, only Maxim Vengerov’s seems to have come close in quality and excitement. Thankfully, Skride recently recorded the piece with the Munich Philharmonic, and it is a must-buy for any serious Shostakovich fan. Anybody wishing to explore more of Skride’s interpretations might also be interested in her CD featuring Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, which was recorded with none other than Andris Nelsons and the CBSO.
