SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Berlioz, Sibelius, Rachmaninov: (Second Opinion) Nicola Benedetti, Philharmonia Orchestra, Hugh Wolff. Cheltenham Town Hall, 29.4.2009 (RJ)


The young Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti has won a string of plaudits during her brief career.  A recent winner of the Classical BRIT Award and the BBC's Young Musician of the Year 2004, she has also a number of recordings to her credit. So I was looking forward to hearing her perform the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Hugh Wolff's direction. Yet I approached the concert with some trepidation wondering whether her performance justify the hype?

I am pleased to report that it did. Moreover, I have to acknowledge that Miss Benedetti is formidably gifted performer with a strong musical presence. This was clear from the way she dominated the work right from the outset. The initial solo passage seemed to float out of thin air and she slowly built it up into a thrilling climax ending in a challenging cadenza. At times the orchestra took over and the the soloist became the accompanist, but again and again Miss Benedetti asserted herself to play with brilliance and passion.

The slow movement was another world entirely - intimate, wistful, and played with engaging warmth and tenderness. The passage in which the violin engages with the woodwind had a charm of its own.  The finale in the style of a polonaise proved to be a highly octane affair with plenty of thrilling interplay between soloist and orchestra.

Hugh Wolff is an American conductor with European credentials. Born in Paris, he studied composition with Olivier Messiaen and was Principal Conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra for nine years.  He started the concert off in festive mood with the Roman Carnival Overture by Berlioz in a captivating performance which was full of pleasing contrasts. I could not help feeling that his studies with Messiaen had contributed to his facility in bringing out the colours and nuances of this music.

The same was true of his treatment of Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances, which is a veritable masterpiece of orchestration. Although employing a large orchestra, none of the clarity of the music got lost thanks to Mr Wolff's fastidious conducting.  The first movement, which Rachmaninov had originally entitled Noon, began with  rhythmical flourish characterised by plenty of percussion and a strong contribution from the brass section. But the initial excitement eventually gave way to a blissful woodwind interlude with some evocative saxophone playing from Simon Haram. More rhythmical excitement followed but the movement finally seemed to subside into an afternoon nap.

The second movement, Twilight, was a celebration of the  waltz, but the opening had a sinister feel with strange sounds from the brass and woodwind. Eventually the strings took over and their lush sound gave the music an attractive lilt.

The final movement, originally entitled Midnight, was an animated affair with echoes of the Shrovetide Fair in Stravinsky's Petrushka. It was impossible to escape from the deeply religious atmosphere represented by church bells and religious chants including Rachmaninov's trademark, the Dies Irae, as if death were imminent.

This was music which sought to overwhelm its listeners and draw them into its spell. Hugh Wolff and the mighty Philharmonia succeeded magnificently in bringing this work to life, concluding with a gloriously brassy climax.

Roger Jones

Bob Briggs also reviewed this concert in London on 30.4.2008

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