Review of Hallé concert conducted by Thomas Adès 21 November 2024

Thomas Adès conducts the Hallé. cr David Hughes, the Hallé

In the third of his four concerts as the Hallé’s two-year artist-in-residence, Thomas Adès brought a programme based on Sibelius. His own compositions featured in it, too, as is no doubt the expectation for his part in the orchestra’s Manchester programming – in the form of his 20-minute orchestral piece, Aquifer, and his Homage to Sibelius, which employs a violin soloist. That role was filled by Stephen Waarts, who also played Rautavaara’s Deux Sérénades, a kind of two-movement concerto from the end of its creator's life which had to be completed by Kalevi Aho – the premiere of it was less than six years ago.

Being based on music from one of his operas, the Serenades give the solo violin some vocalistic, sweet lines, with longing embodied in them, and Waarts’ lyrical playing was complemented by liquid, glowing tone from the orchestra, the woodwind fluttering around the solo like exotic birds. Both movements end without warning, as if in mid-phrase: a poignant reminder that their creator was nearing the end of his days.

Homage to Sibelius uses a much larger orchestra than the 29 strings heard in Rautavaara’s music, and the solo violin is relatively unsoloistic until around half way through the music, when, in contrast to the intertwining, chaconne-style descending patterns and scales around which the music is mainly built, he finds a rising path that finally climbs ever higher, even as the rest of the texture plumbs the depths. It was co-commissioned by Anne-Sophie Mutter and first heard at the Lucerne Festival in 2022. One of the ingenious features of the harmony is the way the bass notes change to create different tonal centres for the moving lines above them – something Sibelius knew about, too.

Liquid sound was also very much the essence of Adès’ Aquifer (as the title implies): this, with the large orchestra back before him, was at times very much water under pressure, though, with the opening of its seven sections erupting like a geyser to a big climax involving all seven of the percussionists on duty. By the time the central section comes, there is striking, uplifting theme for horns with jagged shards of sound around it from trumpets (and others), and after varieties of motion – increasing power, excitement and exhaustion – the theme returns, high and exultant, to make a tumultuous coda. The piece was written earlier this year to celebrate Sir Simon Rattle’s move to the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and feels very much a pièce d'occasion.

Adès’ abilities as a conductor have been, for me, the most rewarding aspect of his visits to the Hallé, and since Sibelius is one of his specialities it was thrilling to hear his readings of the Seventh and (to finish) Fifth Symphonies. Sir Mark Elder performed and recorded them with the Hallé respectively 14 and 10 years ago, so some members may have benefitted from that inheritance as well.

With Emily Davis in the leader’s chair, their playing of the Seventh under Adès was disciplined, clean and beautifully articulated: moments of warmth – almost sentiment – in the opening paragraphs leading to crescendi that ended in sonorous, indeed ecstatic climaxes; the tempo gradations all skilfully controlled.

The Fifth was equally varied and subtle in its opening, with well chosen emphases, delicate wind playing and finely built highpoints. The whispers of sound in the second movement’s “dim. possibile” and the slightly anticipated acceleration that followed were certainly effective, and likewise the springy tunefulness in its more relaxed moments. The last movement was a wild ride, of course, and (as ever) had to achieve something very tricky at the end: to create a sense of conclusion in those six explosive chords at the end, rather than have them seem an odd kind of surprise. They were completely precise, perfectly timed – and simply did the job.

 

 

To be broadcast on Radio 3 on 27^th November

Review of Hallé concert conducted by Kahchun Wong 3 October 2024

Kahchun Wong conducts the Hallé  cr Alex Burns, the Hallé

Popped in between the opening concert of the Hallé season and his next big contribution to the regular autumn series for Kahchun Wong was a “Rush Hour” concert – one that follows the formula of a novelty (or near-novelty) plus a repertoire work, both played as an interval-less, approximately one-hour long, early evening programme.

The repertoire work was the 1919 suite from The Firebird, by Stravinsky, played with bright colours, delicacy and purity in the opening, percussive interjections from the brass in the Infernal Dance, beautifully controlled textures in the Lullaby, and a very grand final Hymn, starring the big bass drum. It was all very rewarding and praiseworthy.

But before that came Tan Dun’s Violin Concerto: Fire Ritual, with Eldbjørg Hemsing as soloist: the UK premiere of the piece, which was given by the same conductor and soloist in 2019 with the New York Philharmonic (its first time in that city).

It’s another example of “East meets West” in Wong’s programming, being written by a Chinese-American and based on a Taoist tradition of ritual that goes back to Chinese imperial times. The sound of traditional instrumentation is also evoked in Tan Dun’s writing – but not in the sense of using old instruments, rather as the inspiration for parts of a vastly varied sound world.

In one way it’s about as varied a sound world as anyone could hope to get from a symphony orchestra (and its conductor). There’s not just the sound of instruments being played in the usual way, but also unusually (a bowed cymbal, for instance), to which are added things such as players whispering, breathing noisily and humming, the conductor singing, and unison audible page-turning by the musicians – it’s surprising how loud that can be when you want it to.

In addition, the wind section of the orchestra was positioned away from the rest in the auditorium, and placed in pairs (oboe, flute, bassoon, clarinet, etc) facing each other from opposite sides of the gallery seating. So not just a quadrophonic experience, but surround sound in multiple variations.

And the soloist begins peripatetically, entering from the side of the platform as she plays and proceeding around the stalls seats until taking her place centre-stage. Much to see, as well as to hear.

I guess it all contributes to the sense of a ritual procedure, but the music has precise descriptive content, too. There are four sections, which we are told evoke the memory of the victims of war and those who have suffered throughout human history, with a kind of interlude called “Heavenly Birds” (guess what noises that requires) and a final prayer for peace. And let’s not forget a virtuosic cadenza-style episode for the soloist – variety is of the essence – and a brief motif for solo tuba which isn’t totally dissimilar to that at the start of the Infernal Dance in Stravinsky’s Firebird. I guess many will have found the very Chinese-sounding, pentatonic “big tune” towards the end the most heartening and melodious aspect of the whole musical pattern, which in technical terms is worked from and around the note D (or “re” in tonic sol-fa notation of the open key, audio-visually punning to indicate the ideas of return, rebirth and re-live).

It strikes me as in some ways like what in the 1960s we used to call “a happening” (as does Bernstein’s also ritual-based Mass): never a dull moment and fascinating in its mental stimulation.

The Royal Philharmonic Society Awards 2024, at the Royal Northern College of Music

 

    

       

L-R from top: Nicky Spence; Jasdeep Singh Degun; Roman Grigoriv, Olga Diatel and Illia Razumeiko; and Jack Capstaff at the RPS Awards

The Royal Philharmonic Society held its awards ceremony at the Royal Northern College of Music on Tuesday night (5 March) – the first time they’ve ever done them out of London. And here are my awards for the highlights of the show:

l The ceremony began with Conversation in the Forest by Keiko Abe, performed by “The Sound of Manchester” – Delia Stevens and Le Yu (aka Aurora Percussion Duo), with Andrea Vogler, David Hext, Harriet Kwong and Paul Patrick.

l Most entertaining acceptance speech of the night was from tenor Nicky Spence (winner, Singer category), pointing out that he’d been up for the award more than once before and “I was beginning to think I was Pippa Middleton” and telling the tale of how his mother (also present) and he stayed in a youth hostel when he first auditioned for the Guildhall School – sharing a room with bunk beds and, as both were “under-ambitious in terms of BMI”, it became a test of faith for the party on the underneath.

Nicky Spence and his husband, pianist Dylan Perez, also entertained with a rendition of Noel Coward’s Don’t put your daughter on the stage, Mrs Worthington, which opened the second half of the night (it all finally ran to 45 minutes behind schedule).

l Jasdeep Singh Degun – the first sitar player ever to win an RPS Award – was both winner of the Instrumentalist category and composer/leader in the final item: Veer, with Harkiret Bahra, tabla, and RNCM musicians Leda Mileto, Chris Karwacinski, Beth Willett and Clara Hope Simpson (aka the Aestus Quartet) and Joana Moura, double bass.

l The Opera and Music Theatre award was won by Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival’s presentation of Chornobyldorf, which brought the whole Ukrainian cast and company of the opera to Yorkshire for its UK premiere. Ukrainian composers Illia Razumeiko and Roman Grigoriv travelled from Kyiv to receive the award.

l And the most eloquent acceptance speech was from Jack Capstaff, music director of Derwent Brass, the Derbyshire brass band which won the “Inspiration” category for non-professional ensembles – the only award decided by public vote (all nominations for it this year being for those based somewhere north of Watford). Bearing in mind the band world’s intense competitiveness, he said, with their foibles – “and there are many” – bands had always been good at creating access to music making for grass-roots communities, and it was down to a groundswell of support that Derwent had won the vote.

Other details:

l “Manchester Classical”, the weekend mini-festival last summer that brought together the Hallé, BBC Philharmonic, Manchester Camerata, Manchester Collective, RNCM and others, was presented with the Series and Events Award, having brought thousands of citizens to the Bridgewater Hall. Accepting the award, Hallé boss David Butcher said the city was unique in its collaboration between different organisations, and “when you work in partnership, brilliant things happen”.

l The Gamechanger Award went to the Irene Taylor Trust and its artistic director Sara Lee for using music to help people affected by the criminal justice system and in marginalised areas of society. 

l The Impact Award was presented to disabled musician Clare Johnston and Drake Music Scotland for Call of the Mountains, a collaboration with Kazakhstan’s Eegeru ensemble, which culminated in a collective performance in Edinburgh.

l Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, an icon of contemporary music who died in 2023, was given the Large-Scale Composition Award for her acclaimed opera Innocence: a portrait of lives changed by a high school shooting (it was staged by the Royal Opera). Her son, Aleksi Barrière, who was the opera’s co-librettist, collected the trophy.

l The BBC Singers were recognised for the quality, style and imagination they bring to a range of endeavour, receiving the Ensemble Award. 

l François-Xavier Roth received the Conductor Award for his work with the London Symphony Orchestra and his own ensemble, Les Siècles; the Chamber-Scale Composition Award went to Laurence Osborn for TOMB! premiered by the GBSR Duo and 12 Ensemble at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival; the Storytelling Award went to Leah Broad for Quartet, a book about four female composers; and the Young Artist Award was presented to mezzo soprano Lotte Betts-Dean.

PS:

Having once been part of a partly similar awards shindig myself, it was like a reminder of old times to see how these things are put together. You invite all your nominees and their friends to come to swell the crowd, but you keep the winners’ names confidential, of course … and then you worry that some of the chosen winners have not committed to being there.

With performers, one trick is to invite them to do a turn in the ceremony – which on the whole they will accept and seriously commit to (see above for examples). But sometimes, when it’s a clear turn-down because they have engagements elsewhere, you simply have to tell them they’ve won, swear them to secrecy and get them to film an acceptance speech in advance, feigning surprise, etc., etc.

When it’s the backroom and admin people (or movers and shakers, as they like to think of themselves), sometimes they, or their underlings, will say: “I could come, but I’m very, very busy and it would help to be tipped off, just privately, if being there in person will really be worth it” – in other words, “Have I won, because I’d love to make a speech in front of my peers and admirers, but otherwise it’s not worth it?” That’s the tricky one. I must admit to having stooped that low with those guys, sometimes.