CityLife

BBC Philharmonic: Shostakovich, Brahms, Sibelius

BBC Philharmonic
Bridgewater Hall
November 20, 2009 

VASSILY SINAISKY'S visits as principal guest conductor of the BBC Philharmonic are always special events. Friday's programme (November 20) was no exception, and it was memorable also for the appearance of the young Armenian violinist Sergey Khachatryan as soloist in the Brahms concerto.

But it began with Russian music, Sinaisky's home ground. He offered three of Shostakovich's Interludes from the opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (or Katerina Izmaylova, as it was by the time the Interludes achieved their final form and were played as concert items).  They're great comic music and became a brilliantly executed romp for the Philharmonic.

With its 60 strings on stage, Sinaisky had impressive forces at his disposal for Sibelius' first symphony. He did not hesitate to use them, presenting the work with dramatic extremes of dynamic, colour and pacing. The 'granite' Sibelius was far away from the passionate phrasing he expected.

The third movement was remarkable for the clarity of its textures and its finely calculated sense of momentum, and if the last movement's final pizzicati were not quite all they could have been, the audience were keen to forgive that for the sake of the heartfelt playing they had already experienced.

Sergey Khachatryan is a soloist of rare quality, able to achieve a convincing partnership with his conductor colleague (and precision was very much part of this performance), but bringing an individual touch, too, particularly in the first movement cadenza, which he played as if it were an improvisation of the moment, with great delicacy and thoughtfulness. 

Dry humour

There was gentleness and serenity in the slow movement, bringing into full focus the vivid contrast which comes within it.

His was not the only outstanding solo appearance at the hall last week. Michael McHale, the young Irish pianist, left a deep impression in his playing of Mozart's concerto no. 9 (the 'Jeunehomme') in the Hallé's Opus One programme.

Rory Macdonald took the orchestra through the suite from Prokoviev's Lieutenant Kijé, with dry humour, not a little swagger and exuberant fun in the wedding scene and Sleigh Ride, and later a pretty tame account of Dvořák's fifth symphony (suffering from comparison with Sir Mark Elder's electric eighth the week before).

But it was the Mozart concerto that came alive, with soloist and conductor, it seemed instinctively, sharing a common concept of its unpredictable nature and ever-changing atmosphere. 

McHale can combine dramatic flair with faultless stylistic skill (as in the first movement cadenza), probe the depths of the writing (as in the slow movement), and mix fluency, bravura and suddenly surreal nostalgia - as in the finale. He's a player with a lot to give.