Mozart : Violin Concerto No. 5 (Vilde Frang)
Richard Strauss : Highlights from "Der Rosenkavalier"
Twyla Robinson (soprano)
Lucy Crowe (soprano)
Daniela Sindram (mezzo-soprano)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Donald Runnicles
We're used to getting Wagner in bleeding chunks; Strauss is a bit more rare. There are the various Rosenkavalier Suites, but I haven't heard any of those in concert in a very long time, and vocal extracts are even less common. Before diving into the whipped cream of Strauss's imaginary Imperial Vienna, however, came the last of the Mozart Violin Concertos, with the young Norwegian violinist, Vilde Frang, who had been programmed to play the Nielsen concerto last month, but had to cancel for health reasons. She's something of a pale waif, and I did fleetingly wonder if she was genuinely recovered, but the playing was assured enough. She showed a slight tendency to rush some of the phrases in the outer movements, but her tone is sweet and clear, and the performance as a whole was fresh and appealing.
A symphony orchestra like the BBCSSO doesn't get much chance to play the main operatic repertory, and with a Chief Conductor who spent the best part of the last two decades as MD of San Francisco Opera, it makes sense that the orchestra should seize the occasion to take advantage of, and probably learn from his particular experience. Still, "Der Rosenkavalier" is a little unexpected, if very welcome. I've been lucky with my own experiences of this opera, going back to the famous Dernesch/Baker/Harwood performances for Scottish Opera in the early 70s, and really, I just love the music too much to care particularly whether it "works" in a concert paraphrase or not. It works enough.
The trio of voices was very much dominated by Daniela Sindram's Octavian. She has the ideal sound for the part, a bright but warm timbre, very comfortable at the top, and strongly expressive, and it was good to have at least one native German speaker in the cast - the difference is audible. I'd very much like to hear her sing the Composer some day. There were moments when Crowe (Sophie) and Robinson (the Marschallin) sounded like they should have been exchanged; Crowe's voice was stronger and a little darker, while Robinson was almost fragile, but it made her touchingly melancholic at the right times, whereas Crowe wasn't quite as fresh-voiced as Sophie should be.
Runnicles is very familiar with this score, he has conducted it countless times, and the pacing of these extracts was all very judiciously chosen. The overall orchestral sound was maybe a little drier than I like for Strauss, but there was a nice, light touch, particularly appreciated in a concert hall where you're getting the full force of this large orchestra straight at you, without the distancing effect of the pit. The all-too brief fragment of the great Act 3 waltz, as Baron Ochs retires in disarray, made me wish we could have heard a little more of that aspect of the score (but then of course I was wishing for the whole lot, rather than this condensed edition!), however, Runnicles's affection for this music was evident and welcome.
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