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SEEN AND HEARD UK CONCERT REVIEW
 

Prom 9 – Parry, Scriabin, Tchaikovsky:  Nelson Goerner (piano); BBC Philharmonic/Vassily Sinaisky. 23.7. 2010, Royal Albert Hall, London (CC)


This was the BBC Philharmonic’s first Prom of this season. The conductor was their Principal Guest Conductor, Vassily Sinaisky, whose musicality ahs inspired the orchestra to so many fine Chandos recordings.

Parry is one of this year’s featured composers, and the concert began with Parry’s Symphonic Fantasia in B minor, “1912” (Symphony No. 5). Amazingly, this was the work’s first performance at the Proms. First performed at the Queen’s Hall in 1912, the piece is in four linked movements and emerges as an extended (25-minute) tone poem. The four sections or movements have individual titles: “Stress”; “Love”, “Play” and “Now!”. This was, by far, the concert’s highlight and it seemed clear (in retrospect) that this is where the lion’s share of the rehearsal time had been allocated. Here, ensemble was beautifully tight, and the phrasing ever idiomatic. The woodwind contributions were a particular delight, while the brass chorale in the work’s second section was golden and a joy to experience. Richard Strauss seems an influence on Parry in this piece (Calum MacDonald in his booklet notes points to a near-quote from Don Quixote at the beginning of the extended finale). Sinaisky inspired his forces to a Mendelssohnan lightness in the Scherzo. Throughout, climaxes were expertly moulded. A superb account of a score that demands more attention than it receives. One hopes this account will, in time, be issued on disc (it would make an irresistible cover disc to the BBC Music magazine).

A mixed standard recital at the Wigmore back in 2002 was the last time I heard Nelson Goerner live. Then, I was less than impressed, and can only echo these feelings for this performance of Scriabin’s wonderful Piano Concerto (1896/7). This concerto was actually the reason this Prom had attracted me. Its post-Chopinesque world and the sure hand of its composer make for an winning combination (Goerner, in a BBC interview linked to this performance, points out that the central movement is “purer” Scriabin). Apparently Parry was in the audience when Scriabin gave the London premiere of this piece. It has never entered the repertoire proper, despite Ashkenazy’s excellent 1971 recording with Maazel (Decca). Goerner’s reading was disappointing. From the stalls at the back of the hall, Goerner seemed to over-project his right hand, and he evinced little depth of tone. The feeling was that the orchestra was far outshining its pianist (clearly the close relationship of Sinaisky and the BBC Phil in Russian repertoire is paying off – although see my comments on the “Pathétique” below, where all was not well). Certainly the most memorable section was the silken strings of the opening of the central set of variations. Performance-wise, the finale was the messiest movement from all sides. The final impression was of a missed opportunity, and the search for a performance of the Scriabin Piano Concerto that lives long in the memory and does the piece justice continues.

After a nicely dark opening to Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony (“Pathétique”), things went decidedly downhill. Here the feeling of under-rehearsal was most evident (loose violin scalic passages, general ensemble). The arrival of the redemptive second subject was far too literal. A blatant clarinet squeak at one point seemed to sum it all up, and while the Allegro con grazia was pleasant enough, the third movement march was unforgivable scrappy from the strings. Again, ensemble in general was problematic. The finale, taken swiftly, continued the general disappointing trend, Strings failed to dig in when required, and the end fade seemed remarkably meaningless. A great disappointment – at least the Parry made the trip to Kensington worthwhile, though.

Colin Clarke

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