The Sapporo Symphony Orchestra’s
tour of seven major UK cities is part of the astonishingly varied celebrations
of ‘Japan 2001’. Tadaaki Otaka is no stranger to these shores
because of his involvement with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
He took up the post of Music Advisor and Principal Conductor of the
Sapporo orchestra in May 1998. There was much evidence of close rapport
between conductor and orchestra at this concert.
The inclusion of a work by Toru
Takemitsu was perhaps predictable, but nevertheless fascinating. Star-Isle
(1992) was written for Waseda University in Tokyo, and Takemitsu takes
the musical notes from ‘Waseda’ (A flat (As), E, D and A) as a prime
source for his material. Otaka consistently brought out the influence
of Messiaen, immediately apparent in the opening brass ensemble. This
is not one of Takemitsu’s more self-indulgent works (there are several
outbursts) and it is all the stronger for that.
Takemitsu stated that Star-Isle
can also be played as an introduction to Far Calles. Coming, far!
for violin and orchestra, and it has to be admitted that when it finished,
there was a definite implication that more was to come: one was left
with a curiously unsatisfied feeling.
Perhaps some more Takemitsu would
not have been a bad thing. It has been a long time since I last heard
John Lill (back in the days when he was a regular soloist with
the Hallé Orchestra). His playing was always characterised by
a steady technique, but there was a marked tendency towards four-square
phrasing, unsubtle shading and a general sameness of tone. Nothing,
it appears, has changed. Despite the efforts of the Sapporo players
to contend with an over-slow pace for the first movement of Mozart's
D minor Piano Concerto (No. 20, K466), many moments of Mozartian magic
were simply glossed over. It left one wondering just how much rehearsal
time there had been (wind balance was curiously careless, for example).
The opening of the slow movement just proved how elusive the ‘art of
the simple’ can be, Lill’s interventionist manner robbing the moment
of its potential for tranquility. The last movement found the woodwind
in more sprightly form, but Lill’s tendency to over-pedal (a fault which
ran throughout this performance) precluded enjoyment of this most masterly
of concertos.
It is a safe bet that the lion’s
share of rehearsal time went into Mahler’s Fourth Symphony. It was obvious
that Otaka had studied Mahler's orchestration carefully, many details
emerging effortlessly and clearly. To his credit, Otaka took a long
view of the first movement, so that all details fitted into a coherent
whole. The second movement occasionally felt rushed, although I have
nothing but praise for leader Mayumi Kano’s solos on her re-tuned violin.
The strings, unfortunately, did
not have the requisite depth of sound to make the third movement the
powerful experience it can be: the cellos, in particular, felt the strain
in some of Mahler's cruelly exposed writing. The climax, however, was
well managed and led effortlessly into the final (vocal) movement. Rebecca
Evans, the soprano soloist, took time to warm up in Mahler's very
special finale, so that moments of magic only began to be hinted at
about half way through. Some lines lay too low for her and she had a
tendency to bulge on longer notes, but neither of these points was the
main problem. Her voice sounded too big for this piece and there was
little sense of heavenly wonder. It was not the ideal way to end a concert
which contained much to provoke thought.
Colin Clarke
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