Prom 43: Schumann, Beethoven, Mendelssohn. Christian Tetzlaff (violin) / BBC Symphony Orchestra / Jirí Belohlávek (conductor), Royal Albert Hall, 15.08.2006 (ED)

 

 

Schumann: Manfred - Overture

Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major

Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 in A minor, 'Scottish'

 

 

This was an interesting Prom, the centre-piece and highlight of which was Tetzlaff's performance of Beethoven's concerto, but the other items were no less involving in their own way.  Jirí Belohlávek and the BBC Symphony Orchestra have occasionally been criticized for their lacklustre performances, but no such remarks could be leveled at their reading of Schumann's Manfred overture. With the music built in waves of emotion and a sense of inner flow much in evidence Belohlávek led an energetically propelled reading that brought out much of the romance of Manfred that Schumann suggests in his writing.

 

Those that have heard Tetzlaff's recording of the Beethoven concerto with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra and David Zinman will know much of what went into this performance. That Tetzlaff continues to plough his own distinctive path with this concerto was self-evident and there was no mistaking his shaping role in proceedings. He placed two sides of Beethoven's character firmly on display, the roughly impassioned against the calmly lyrical, and made much out of exploiting every inherent contrast. In overall terms his is a lithe reading of the work, very much at odds with the grander style expounded by performers of yester-year. That he doesn't show much regard for the history of performance style hardly mattered in some respects though, as his own performance threw up a series of burning questions. Where was the balance of attention in the performance: with Beethoven or Tetzlaff? Did the solo part need to be quite so roughly projected at times? What do you, the listener, think of this approach to Beethoven?

 

Indeed, one could almost hear Tetzlaff thinking 'how much can I get away with here?' as he plays. Nothing illustrated this more than Tetzlaff's choice of cadenza - a reworking for violin of Beethoven's original written for the concerto in its piano incarnation. Largely accompanied throughout by timpani - played with hard sticks - the cadenza itself had a rather military feeling about it. All in all, very different from the more usual time honoured insertion by Joachim, but arresting in its originality and fitted well into the framework of the music at the time.

 

With a rather reduced orchestral scale being employed by Belohlávek the second movement emphasized the calm at the centre of a storm. Any emotionally erratic elements were momentarily banished as both Belohlávek and Tetzlaff brought tonal quality and nuance to the fore. The beauty of his filigree solo line over pizzicato orchestral string playing illustrated this nicely.  If only Tetzlaff was willing to relax more often then Belohlávek and his players might have seemed more comfortable with their accompanying role in general. Tetzlaff's style fits easier with Zinman's well-established Beethoven aesthetic than Belohlávek's, which in moments of grandeur showed some nostalgia for a more traditionalist approach.

 

Tetzlaff's own improvised link to the third movement provided yet another touch of originality in this performance. At once he showed a willingness to push the music hard again - almost too hard? - and came close to derailing it on occasions. With yet another rough-edged cadenza in evidence there was not a bland note to be heard.

 

Hardly anyone who heard it could have been left without an opinion about the performance such was its own sense of inner justification and strength. In response to Tetzlaff's questions I have one of my own: is his a reading to live with? My own feeling is that it's not, given that I prefer something a little more stable of emotion in the work, but for sheer excitement value his is a reading that takes some beating. The arena audience in particular gave Tetzlaff a wild reception at the works close, and were rewarded with a tender reading of the Andante from JS Bach's second sonata for solo violin in A minor, BWV 1003.

 

Jirí Belohlávek and the BBC Symphony Orchestra assumed the spotlight again with their performance of Mendelssohn's third symphony. Belohlávek conceived the work on a large canvas from the first; almost bringing to mind a Brucknerian sense of scale and sonority, with emphasis placed upon brass and timpani lines throughout. In fact, timpanist John Chimes made excellent pivotal contributions to all three works in the programme; it was quite a night for him. Contrasts of mood and scenery were usefully lighted upon by Belohlávek: the elemental thrust of the first movement was followed by a delightfully light and airy youthful scherzo. Passages of grandeur were brought out in the brass writing of the third movement, thus effectively providing a foil to the openly folk-influenced passages that kick off the fourth movement. In the end though a feeling of landscape and place had a positive effect on the reading as a whole, which mixed dynamic variation effortlessly into the scene to form a broad and satisfying reading.

 

 

Evan Dickerson