Review by Alan G Nairn
A series with Mendelssohn, Weber and Schumann in each concert seemed too good to be true. In a sense I think it was because here we had works that these composers would not regard as their most glowing achievements, possibly except the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. The catalyst for the Early Romantics was literature and inspiration from the Arts. It is a tribute to the excellent programming and the wonderful playing of the SCO that this series turned to more abstract music but still produced a coherent and enjoyable concert in each of the three of the series.
Among the highlights of the series for me were the slow movements of the Mendelssohn Concertos. Jonathon Biss on piano and Baiba Skride on violin spun out gentle but powerful lines of melody in their concertos that seemed to inspire the orchestra also. Both were occasions when I relaxed another inch into my seat, bathed in the beauty of the sound and wanted the music to go on forever.
It didn’t unfortunately, but in the intervals between, I noticed that the similarities of the programmes threw into focus the different approaches of the conductor in each concert. John Nelson (concert 2) produced incandescent highs in his Schumann symphony and saggy lows while John Storgards (concert 3) found a sort of plateau of intensity that lived from bar 1 to the end. Interestingly, the Double Basses migrated from one side of the platform and back over the series. Why? Our own Joseph Swensen (concert 1) as ever brought the composer’s music to life. It was in his concert that I award my best of the series.
Among the Schumann symphonies, No. 3 had never a dull moment. It was fitting played by an orchestra of the SCO’s size - intimate and grandly powerful also. It more than repaid my modest £6.40 entry fee. Surely the young and old don’t know about this bargain on offer in Aberdeen for the price of a fish supper and a drink. Reading the programme note I wondered about the various origins of Schumann’s music. He would adapt a piece, usually orchestral, to fit new circumstances. I couldn’t help thinking that this piece with its wonderful quartet of horns (magnificently played on the night) might have had its genesis in a concert stuck for 4 horns somewhere in its past.
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