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Debussy, Elgar, Beethoven: Torleif Thedéen (cello) London Philharmonic Orchestra/Mario Venzago, Royal Festival Hall, London, 5.6.2009 (J-PJ)

Debussy: La Mer
Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor

Beethoven: Symphony No.5 in C minor


There can be no doubting the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s position as one of the best orchestra’s around. But this concert highlighted the role of a conductor in making a performance truly great.

Swiss-born Mario Venzago began his musical career as a pianist, and now spends some of his time composing. His deep understanding of music was reflected in his management of the three works in the programme. His clear knowledge of the scores meant that his conducting was tightly controlled and intelligent. On the other hand, the music felt too literally directed.

Debussy’s La Mer sounded mechanical – rather like a Swiss clock, carefully wound up and ticking to perfection, but lacking the unpredictability and moodiness that Debussy was trying to capture in his evocation of the sea. Venzago made better work of the second movement (Play of the Waves), with its rhythmical ebbs and flows, but the final movement (Dialogue Between the Wind and the Sea) felt too languorous. Overall, a technically proficient but rather plain reading.

In Elgar’s Cello Concerto, Venzago formed an effective partnership with soloist Thorleif Thedéen. Although Thedéen’s opening sounded too jabbing, he quickly settled into an intelligent and insightful account of the first movement, highlighting Elgar’s irony and restlessness rather than the more usual tragic take on the work. The Adagio was especially well played, with a fine, restrained expressiveness, and the orchestra provided a meaningful partnership throughout. Only the acoustics of the Royal Festival Hall – which sounded thin and vacuous – let the performers down.

After opening the programme with two classics of the twentieth century (composed in 1904 and 1919 respectively), it seemed an odd choice to end with a masterpiece from a hundred years earlier. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony felt like a backwards step, and the performance did little to excite the ears. Again, the playing was faultless and polished, but Venzago’s conducting – despite some eccentric gesturing and arm waving – was fairly pedestrian. The only glimmer of excitement came in the Andante, with its comic interplay between various sections of the orchestra. After that, it was a long wait until the end.

John-Pierre Joyce


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