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Berlioz and Tchaikovsky: James Ehnes (violin), Philharmonia Orchestra, Tugan Sokhiev, Royal Festival Hall, London, 29.1.20 09 (GD)

Berlioz: Overture ‘Le corsaire, op.21

Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, op.35

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E minor, op.64


This was very old fashioned style programming. Conductors like Beecham often opened with a rousing performance of a Berlioz overture to initiate a sense of occasion. And when Beecham was conducting this sense of occasion was spell binding. This ‘live’ performance brio, magic…call what you will! was singularly lacking in tonight’s concert.

The beautiful A flat cantilena which immediately follows the brief bravura opening to Le corsair was delivered in a decidedly prosaic fashion; the Philharmonia violins (non antiphonal) on the exposed top A sounded thin and strident rather than full and cantabile! And the ‘swashbuckling’ brass figurations at the overture’s carnival coda sounded shrill rather than dramatically exciting as was always the case with Beecham.  
 
Similarly the superb Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto never really got off the ground. Again, as in the Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, when performed idiomatically and eloquently, delivers an almost narrative sense of occasion. And this musical evocation and sylistic diversity abounds in this work. Sadly all this was lacking tonight. Sokhiev simply failed to infuse the concerto with any sense of movement or drive, it all sounded rather static: not only underplayed but under–realised. The great processional D major march–like sequences in the first movement, ‘Allegro con anima’, went for virtually nothing. The second movement ‘Canzonetta’, a true poem of intimacy, was delivered in a bland four–square manner, and the ‘Allegro vivacissimo’ finale was more of a rushed scramble with little feeling for rhythmic lift and contrast. All this was not helped by soloist James Ehnes, who played the concerto at what seemed to be all at one level with little or no sense of dynamic/rhythmic/lyrical contrast. I was originally going to report that Ehnes’ playing was all technical perfection and not much else. But when I returned home I played the superb Gidon Kremer CD (with Maazel and the Berlin Philharmonic), and right away was astounded not just by Kremer’s incredible sense of the work’s diversity and contrast but his much greater sense of the work’s virtuoso qualities: Kremer’s superb technique is never emphasised as just technique. Compared with this level of musicality Ehnes sounded merely adequate! And unlike the Kremer/Maazel recording, which is infused with a real sense of dialogue between soloist and conductor/orchestra, tonight’s effort projected very little of these qualities.  
 
As an encore Ehnes gave another ‘adequate’ rendition of the Gigue from Bach’s second Partita for solo violin. 
 
Tonight Sokhiev seemed to be looking back to the bad old traditions of Tchaikovsky interpretation which favoured the conductor’s ego over any approximation to what the composer actually composed! Throughout the first movement ‘Allegro con anima’ Sokhiev indulged in the old cliché’s of slowing down for the lyrical sections and accelerating speed and distorting dynamics in the more dramatic music. The ‘Andante cantabile’ had little sense of unfolding melodic eloquence, with the fortissimo concluding statement of the motto theme sounding loud and coarse  rather than having any sense of dramatic resolution. The waltz was too fast with little dance inflection, and the finale, although starting out confidently with a bold statement of the motto theme, quickly collapsed, in the ‘Allegro vivace’, into loudness and a rushed scramble with little sense of the movement’s distinctive and related thematic contour. This sad state of affairs was exacerbated by continuing loud strident brass and the timpanist, who played too loudly and on several occasions, came in too late degenerating into a sequence of ryhthmic cul-de-sac’s. Throughout the symphony, and particularly in this movement, the double–basses and celli lacked the essential full and resonant tone; at times they were almost inaudible! This wonderful old war–horse, when played as the composer directs, can still produce a most exciting and enduring musical experience. Among today’s conductors I look forward to performances from Jurowski and Mackerras (if indeed the symphony is in Sir Charles’s repertoire?), as an antidote to tonight’s exercise ‘in how not to do it’.  
 
Geoff Diggines


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