SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

J S Bach (arranged Elgar), Barber and Elgar: Salomon Orchestra, Dominic Grier, St John’s, Smith Square, London, 12.10.2010 (BBr)

J S Bach (arranged Elgar): Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV537/op.86 (c1723 – 1921/1922)
Barber: Adagio for Strings; op.11 (1936 orch 1938) Essay No.2 for Orchestra, op.17 (1942)
Elgar: Symphony No.1 in A flat, op.55 (1907/908)

I learned Elgar’s 1^st Symphony from the 78s set of the work, recorded in 1930, with Elgar conducting the LSO. It was released on 6 discs, but it only filled 11 sides so there was a filler on the 12^th side. My school, which was the proud possessor of these 78s, only had the first five discs so I learned the work with no knowledge as to how it ended! It was two years before I finally experienced the ending, at a live performance with Barbirolli and the Hallé, in St George’s Hall in Bradford. The music which was new to me started at the end of the quiet middle section of the finale, and nothing could have prepared me for the magnificent peroration which Elgar achieves. Even after 40 plus years I still feel a frisson of excitement when the full orchestra proclaims Elgar’s great theme at the end.

Dominic Grier is a very young man and one wonders how often he has had the opportunity to conduct this great work. He has obviously given a lot of thought to his interpretation and his vision of the work was apparent in every bar. However, one thing bothered me. Elgar’s own recording plays for a little over 46 minutes but many subsequent performances have added about 5 minutes to the playing time – Barbirolli’s 1964 recording with the Philharmonia takes just short of 54 minutes, a tempo matched by Haitink and the BBC SO in a very fine 1982 Proms performance. I don’t know how much the constriction of the duration of the side of a 78 rpm disc contributed to Elgar’s decisions with regard to tempo, but even though he is brisk he allows time for the more poetic sections to speak. I don’t believe that performances have got slower, it’s just that conductors have realised that in order to let the music breathe one must give it a little time and space. Tonight, Grier chose swift tempi - no problem there - but his interpretation lacked the repose which is so essential to a well balanced reading of this score. In the scherzo, the trio sections, which Elgar said should be played “like something you hear down by the river” were rushed, and the slow movement, although graced with some lovely woodwind playing, didn’t achieve the elation which fills so many of its pages. The outer movements both had well wrought slow introductions but there was too much haste in the allegros, and, added to this, there was a real lack of Nobilmente throughout. Grier certainly has the measure of the work, now he needs to find its soul, the essential give and take which this composer needs to allow his music to really speak to an audience. The playing of the Salomon Orchestra was first rate throughout.

Elgar’s orchestration of Bach’s mighty Fantasia and Fugue in C minor tells us more about Elgar than it does about Bach. It’s a marvellously exciting and colourful piece, which makes a good concert starter and this performance was as extrovert as you could wish for.

2010 is the centenary of Samuel Barber’s birth and it was good to have these two works included in this show, especially as one of them is almost unknown, certainly in British concert halls. The famous Adagio has been hi–jacked by the lamentation brigade and it’s now rolled out at times of national, and international, mourning, but it wasn’t written as such nor should it, really, be used in such a way. This is music of ecstasy, not mourning, and tonight Grier found a perfect tempo which allowed for the Adagio marking, but kept the music moving, achieving a truly ecstatic climax. The 2^nd Essay is the middle of three such named works, the form being based on the literary idea of story telling. They are all symphonic movements and the second is a strong and vital piece of work with many opportunities for the orchestra to show off its abilities. The Salomon Orchestra gave a virtuoso performance, which left one gasping at both the sheer power of the music and the intelligence of the interpretation.

Bob Briggs