Spring Serenade

The SSO’s enforced tour of local concert venues came to rest last night at Walthamstow Hall school with a programme framed by two of the most popular early C19th symphonies. Bizet’s symphony in C, as the programme notes reminded us, does not play itself – there are challenges aplenty particularly for a relatively large string section, but there was much to enjoy in this performance, not least the restrained energy of the first movement and the finale. This is music that comes from the Haydn/Mozart line of symphonic thought, almost ignoring Beethoven, and maybe the middle movements needed a little classical restraint for their charm to really work, however the famous oboe tune demonstrated that Bizet really was a great melodist.

Suzanne Thorn was the young soloist in Richard Strauss’ oboe concerto, almost as much an autumnal piece as his Four Last Songs, full of wistful nostalgia. Her rich sound and easy assured technique made beguiling listening, the orchestra supporting through the many chromatic twists and turns of this (very) late romantic score. There were moments when I could have wished for a more fluid rubato from the solo, perhaps an acknowledgement of the operatic vocal line that was the chief part of Strauss’ creative output, but that’s probably a factor of youth [and my extreme age]. More than in many concertos the interplay with orchestral section leaders makes parts of the piece almost a Sinfonia Concertante – flute, clarinet and bassoon all have a part to play within the soloists arabesques of semi-quavers, this was really nicely achieved, despite the wind being significantly distanced up on the stage. I found this a really engaging performance, as did the audience, with its large contingent of local oboists!

Elgar’s serenade for strings is one of the great pieces of the string orchestra repertoire and its familiarity to British audiences can breed indifference but I found this a fresh reading with some nicely judged moments. On a very few occasions the ensemble rocked a little with some desks not fully engaged with the conductor – but the string tone was warm and rich, and the musical phrasing was carried through right to the piece’s somewhat enigmatic end.

Mendelssohn’s Italian symphony also seems to ignore what had happened to the symphony in Beethoven’s hands and has a unique personality of its own. I found the playing in this really involving and exciting. The slow movement procession of pilgrims, the graceful minuet, and the concluding Tarantella all had that edge of the seat feeling that make good musicianship so much more of a real experience than the most perfectly presented CD. Bravo SSO perhaps the world tour of Sevenoaks hasn’t been so bad after all.

John Hendry

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