Light and Shade Feb 2009

A review of our first concert of 2009 - thank you to John Hendry:

A landmark date on Sunday – the return of the SSO to the STAG – and a very full house again demonstrating community loyalty to the venue and the orchestra.

Byron’s Manfred is quite a dark story – it’s probably just as well we were spared a synopsis – Schumann’s overture picks up well the high romantic drama and intense introspection. The orchestra were well in the groove for this with pre-echoes of Wagner and Brahms particularly from the wind, and the strings providing impassioned accompaniment or lyrical phrasing as the occasion demanded. Strangely Sibelius’ well known Valse Triste coming after the Schumann sounded clean, light and merely wistful rather than ‘sad’. Here the strings really shone with a shimmering and most attractive sound and some moments of very nice chamber-like ensemble playing. A surprising but really effective piece of programming.

Mendelssohn’s violin concerto, as the programme notes acknowledged, is undoubtedly in the top five and will always bring audiences out. It’s always interesting to hear young players and Joo Yeon Sir at just 18 was certainly that. Without that information could we have guessed from the performance? – probably yes, but that’s not a negative comment. The technique was sound, the sound was clean and focussed, and the rapport with audience and conductor impressive. The performance just had an edge of excitement, of being not so much a trotting out of a warhorse - rather trying out a new plaything. Yes there were unusual moments from time to time in her choice of tempi or phrasing but they were not destructive, Darrell Davison and the SSO supported attentively and helped via nicely phrased wind playing give a little additional gravitas to the slow movement. This was exciting music making.

Dvorak’s D minor symphony definitely has both Light and Shade in it, and some well known tunes – particularly the start of the third movement which my neighbour clearly enjoyed with a full-throated hum. The slow movement in this performance clearly showed its Brahmsian debt and had a genuine symphonic seriousness without being stodgy. The last movement is a ‘passionate struggle’ as David Floyd’s notes reminded us and there were moments in this where ensemble and intonation particularly in the triplet passages unsettled me. However the symphony ended with an appropriate blaze of glory and the struggle was forgotten. In the opening movement we had heard some really fine orchestral playing with careful interplay between wind and strings, a rich comfortable sound and a magical hushed conclusion. This was a thoroughly satisfying way to celebrate the homecoming to the STAG – the buzz from front of house staff and stage crew alike was reminiscent of the earliest days of the STAG - back last century!

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