This week’s Hallé ‘Opus One’ set of
concerts is notable not just on account of the soloists (Benjamin Grosvenor for
Beethoven’s Piano concerto no. 3,
Jonathan Scott for Saint-Saëns’ Organ
Symphony) but because it’s the first full-length main series programme in
the Bridgewater hall conducted by Jonathon Heyward since his appointment as
Assistant Conductor.
He’s a very gifted exponent of the art of
the baton, and if his style with the Hallé reminds you a bit of Sir Mark Elder’s,
that’s no bad thing at all, as it means that he’s gained a lot from his mentor
and that he appreciates exactly what works with the Hallé Orchestra.
I noticed he had the traditional strings layout,
with cellos on the front stage right and all the violins together on the left,
for his programme of Weber, Beethoven and Saint-Saëns: their sound was well focused
and precise.
From the start it was clear that he can
bring a sense of quiet tension to the opening of a piece such as the overture
to Oberon, where a horn call from out
of the silence, and shimmering strings, is a magical effect. By contrast, the
allegro had poise and brilliance, the strings precise (led by Lyn Fletcher) and
the woodwind crisp and pointed.
The same touch was there in the Beethoven
concerto (especially the final orchestra ritornello of the first movement), and
Benjamin Grosvenor’s solo playing was deeply satisfying – touches of poetic
longing mixed in with a strict sense of flow and balance of question-and-answer
in the phrasing.
The slow movement struck a note of rapture
(orchestra and soloist) and the finale was elegant and fleet-footed, and
finally exuberant. For a solo encore we were treated to one of Grieg’s Lyric
Pieces – Erotik, I believe, in name
and a cool, Norwegian sort of erotica but very beautiful.
The Organ
Symphony, Saint-Saëns’ no. 3, is a bit of a war-horse but extremely popular
for the noise it makes. Jonathon Heyward, however, again found subtlety in it,
and he brings a narrative quality to the music he expounds, along with a clear
sense of the counterpoint that’s there to be found in the orchestral writing
(as well as the big, blockbusting chords).
There was no empty grandiosity in either
his approach or that of Jonathan Scott, with momentum in the rhythms and clean,
vigorous orchestral playing. Jonathan Scott knows the Bridgewater Hall organ
probably better than most, and made its firm but mellow pedal sound tell in the
slow movement and its ‘beating’ tones blend well into the texture.
Gemma Beeson and Peter Durrant were on form
with the piano’s contributions, and there was a nice sense of stasis in the
subdued moments before the final colossal outburst of C major.
Jonathon Heyward
