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SEEN AND HEARD UK
CONCERT REVIEW
Wagner: Siegfried Idyll
Schreker: Chamber Symphony
Fauré: Requiem
Robin Ticciati's last concert with the SCO this season
showcased all he is good at, namely his careful eye for
a well turned phrase and the ability to shade an
orchestral texture with all the best tools at his
disposal. I have seldom heard Wagner's birthday gift for
Cosima sound so beautiful, with outstanding wind cameos
and string tone to die for. Ticciati moulded each phrase
with a craftsman's skill and the whole piece carried a
sense of forward movement without losing the sense of
something unfolding gently from within. Similarly
Fauré's evergreen Requiem shimmered and glowed
in his hands. The cellos and (especially) the violas, so
key to the sound world of this work, played gloriously,
colouring the middle ground of the sound with such
character that, when the violins eventually enter in the
Sanctus and Agnus Dei, the effect is
all the more striking. The combined forces of the
orchestra and chorus sounded great at the climaxes -
such as the Hosanna and the Dies Irae
- and there was a genuine shudder to the end of the
Libera Me, though the moments that should most take
flight, such as the Lux aeterna, I found
strangely earthbound. The SCO Chorus did a fine job,
even if they seemed to flag a little towards the end,
and the clarity of the textures helped each line to come
through clearly, though this wasn't always to the
benefit of the tenor section.
If Franz Schreker isn't a name you instantly know then
it's to no fault of his: he was hugely popular in the
Germany of the Weimar Republic, but his Jewish roots
meant that he fell foul of the National Socialists and
it is only recently that more of his music has been
widely played. He said of himself "I am a
sound-artist... and have no melody whatsoever". He's
being modest - listening to his music I picked up more
than the odd taste of Richard Strauss - but his
statement is a testament to his gift for textural
painting which really made his Chamber Symphony
interesting. The forces are very exposed (two of most
string sections and single winds with percussion) and
could make things sound exposed, but he achieves some
tremendous effects with great economy of means, be it
the spectral opening, the gentle, scherzo-like central
section or the magical, even visionary close. Players of
the SCO's calibre give this music absolute clarity of
texture and Ticciati shaped the unfolding of the
single-movement structure with a sense of surety and
vision so that the listener never felt lost.
Tonight was another example of the SCO's gift for
intelligent programming and of the variety they put
before their audiences. The same can be seen throughout
their new season which was unveiled yesterday. For full
details go to
www.sco.org.uk.
Simon Thompson