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Britten, Bach, and Walton: Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Julia Fischer, director and violin, Benaroya Hall, Seattle, 16.2.2009 (BJ)


Between being in tune and not being out of tune stretches a gulf that might be called “sort of okay.” At its visiting engagement in Seattle, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields showed itself to be triumphantly on the right side of that divide. Intonation was so precise that many moments in the music were realized more vividly than I had ever heard them played before.

If I begin with a technical point, this is not to suggest that musical values were neglected. Actually the two spheres should not be thought of as in any way conflicting. A half-dozen first violins in perfect unison sound musical in a way not achievable through anything less than perfection. Perhaps the most stunning example came in the slow movement of the final work of the evening, Walton’s Sonata for Strings: here a sustained high note in the firsts was ravishing to the point of revelatory delight.

Walton’s Sonata was one of the two English works that book-ended Bach’s two violin concertos on the program. The other was Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, a piece as early in its composer’s output and as brisk and mercurial in manner as the Walton is late and mellow. With both treated to performances that combined flawless ensemble and vigorous rhythm with unfailing sensitivity, I was surprised to find myself enjoying Walton’s relative rarity even more than Britten’s more familiar work. Arranged for string orchestra in the 1970s from his String Quartet of two decades and a half earlier, the Sonata is a piece that emulates the melodic appeal of Walton’s early style while eschewing its abrasiveness. Particularly effective is the way each of its first three movements seems to have reached a conclusion, only to add a brief but charmingly effective envoi of just a few delicate bars. There were, too, touches of rhythmic wit in the scherzo that had me literally–though I hasten to assure you inaudibly–chuckling.

It should be understood that none of these pleasures could have been secured without direction of the highest caliber, which is certainly what Julia Fischer provided. Admittedly she had a string orchestra of transcendent caliber to work with–the Academy, now in its 51st glorious season, is clearly without a weak spot anywhere in the ensemble, and principal viola Robert Smissen was especially impressive for his artistry and sheer presence. But a good orchestra without good direction can easily resemble a chicken without a head; and it was clear from her unobtrusive yet firm leadership that Fischer, already at 25 the finest of the crop of gifted young violinists now before the public, also possesses huge potential as a conductor, even if she has not yet swapped the bow for a baton as the ensemble’s founder, Neville Marriner, did many years ago.

Certainly, in her case, I hope that any such step onto the podium in the future would not be taken at the expense of the violin. Her playing of the two Bach concertos, the A-minor before intermission and the E-major after, was a model of burnished tone, graceful articulation, and, in the slow movements, high eloquence, backed up by the orchestra with equal skill and enthusiasm. Both performances were stylish but not too stylish–any but the most diehard devotees of that largely chimerical notion, “authenticity” of performance practice, will know what I mean. Altogether it was an evening to treasure, enjoyed by an encouragingly numerous audience. And a well-chosen encore, in the shape of a winsome little gavotte from Janáçek’s Suite for Strings, sent us home happy.

Bernard Jacobson


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