Review written for the Manchester Evening News 25 February 2015

HALLE ORCHESTRA  Bridgewater Hall

 

THE promised Mozart Sinfonia Concertante played by husband-and-wife Thomas Zehetmair and Ruth Killius did not materialise in this week’s Opus One programmes, because of illness. 

The substitutes, though, turned out to be just as interesting as the original bill would have been. The conductor was the young American James Feddeck, who has made a big impression as an assistant conductor with the Cleveland Orchestra. In his handling of Mendelssohn’s overture, The Fair Melusine (inspired by a fairytale about a water sprite), we could see why. 

His technique is clear and economical, and in the opening and, particularly, the ending of the overture he obtained a combination of smooth, mellow tone and rhythmic lightness of touch from the Hallé that was a pleasure to hear, while the middle part of the piece was energetic, clearly articulated and well contrasted. 

Henning Kraggerud came as soloist with Mozart’s fifth violin concerto. He took over in many ways what would have been Zehetmair’s role as soloist-director, as Feddeck happily took a subordinate place while Kraggerud led the orchestra in the full passages, as well as taking the solo ones. 

The result was a happy one, the playing pointed and stylish from the outset, with the Hallé reduced to chamber orchestra numbers and Lyn Fletcher in her place at the front desk. The soloist gave two impressive lessons in double-stopping in his cadenzas for the first and second movements, and, when it came, the ‘Turkish’ music which gives the concerto its nickname was as wild-eyed and scary as any civilized 18^th century Austrian might have imagined Turks to be. 

On top of that, Henning Kraggerud brought the alternative slow movement Mozart wrote (with two flutes added to the instrumentation) as an encore – and gave us another sparky cadenza in that. He is a gifted and appealing musician and his contribution was the high point of the concert. 

Beethoven’s fifth symphony formed the second part. There’s not a lot a visiting conductor can do to stamp his personality on such a familiar piece, but I found his presentation of the gentler contrasts to the hammering rhythms refreshing and well emphasized, and the strings played gorgeously in the second movement. 

The dancing elephants (as Berlioz thought) imitated by cellos and basses in the third movement were more nimble than we sometimes hear, and the final sprint of the last movement was aptly taken (after a tiny hesitation).

 

**** 

Robert Beale