SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Elgar, Walton and Vaughan Wiliams: Guy Johnston (cello), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Paul Daniel Cadogan Hall, London, 13.5.2008 (BBr)

Edward Elgar: Serenade for strings in E minor, op.20 (1892)
William Walton: Cello Concerto (1956)
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.4 in F minor (1934)

Due to a fall we were robbed of the presence of Vernon Handley on the podium but Paul Daniel more than made up for that loss, starting with a delightful Elgar Serenade; light and delicate, with rich and warm middle textures and the violins really singing their themes. The slow movement was especially beautiful, Daniel showing us that this was an embryonic form of the great symphonic adagios that Elgar was to write a decade later.

Walton’s Cello Concerto has never gained the popularity of the Violin Concerto and it’s easy to see why. Quite apart from the fact that there are fewer cellists than violinists on the concert circuit, it is an autumnal work – odd this, in that in terms of his age Walton was not that old when he wrote it – and is much more relaxed than its more famous predecessor. Starting with a medium paced movement, with a long flowing, and widely ranging first theme, and filled with the delicate sonorities of vibraphone and celesta, the music is impassioned with the emotion held in check. The scherzo which follows has a similar sense of holding back, fast music, to be sure, but without the hectic qualities of some of Walton’s scherzi. The finale is a set of four “improvisations” on a theme and herein lies the stumbling block of the composition. The second and fourth sections are for the cello alone – the first fast and leading into a more typical Walton scherzo, the second slow and lyrical and bringing the work full circle with a return of the opening music and a peaceful conclusion. My feeling is that both these “improvisations” are too long, and although I know that, for the sake of musical balance, they have to be the durations they are, I wish Walton had, for once, ignored that balance and been a little more succinct, creating a shock in the listener with the asymmetrical shape it would have given the music.

Guy Johnston is a fine cellist and a superb advocate for this music. His virtuosity impressed but it was his handling of the lyrical music, and this Concerto is full of that, which was most enjoyable. He gave himself time to enjoy the themes and allowed them to breathe. His phrasing of the long opening theme was glorious and his handling of the end of the first movement, quite Don Quixote-like in its resignation, was stunning. The scherzo was quicksilver light, but try as he might the finale didn’t hold together, but this was no fault of any of the performers who gave of their all. Johnston is an exceptional talent who will go far in his career.

“I don’t know if I like it, but it’s what I meant” is how Vaughan Williams described his 4^th Symphony, and after the interval Daniel and the RPO gave us a powerhouse performance of this difficult and disturbing work, making it sound even more like an intimation of the coming war which the composer claimed it wasn’t! Choosing brisk, but not hurried, tempi Daniel never allowed the tension to drop for one second; this is tersely argued stuff and there is no respite, even in the lyrical moments; think of the second subject of the first movement which, although ostensibly lyrical, is full of wild rushes and is wide in its range, played against a disturbed background of repeated, seemingly disjointed chords. In the development section of the first movement Daniel, quite rightly, pushed things forward, martial music to the fore, hard hitting, troubled and very disturbing; the quiet coda finally bringing our demons to rest, but only for a moment. The slow movement was well paced but was full of foreboding, our demons were at work again. The scherzo was frenetic, forceful, and the galumphing, fugal, trio, starting with tuba and double bassoon, had no feeling of the playful bucolic, it was yet another assault on our senses. The finale continues the argument, full of angst, and, as before, even the lyrical and playful moments are full of presentiment. There is an ominous quality to this music and when the opening music re-appears at the very end we feel no sense of homecoming, just a feeling that we’re “for it again”, as our dad would tell us when we’d done something we shouldn’t have, and just as we realise this VW snuffs out the music with a loud thump for full orchestra.

Throughout, Daniel’s interpretations were most intelligent, and the Royal Philharmonic responded with their very best playing. On a couple of occasions there was some muddiness in the sound but this couldn’t be helped for the scoring is big and thick and I have the feeling that because the Cadogan Hall stage isn’t as large as some, and without the trombones and tuba being on risers their important contribution was sometimes not heard to the full.

This is the third of the Green and Pleasant Land series given in the Cadogan Hall and all of them were the most perfect examples of just how strong our own music is and how important it is in the world music scene. Almost full houses on each occasion also confirmed that the public enjoy, and more importantly, want this music. With performances of such truthfulness it is to be hoped that more fans have been won over to English music.

Bob Briggs


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