Falla : The Three-Cornered Hat, Suite No. 1
Debussy : Première Rapsodie, for clarinet and orchestra (Fraser Langton)
Respighi : The Fountains of Rome
Falla : The Three-Cornered Hat, Suite No. 2
Respighi : The Pines of Rome
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Symphony Orchestra
Francesco Corti
I've never been one to join mailing lists, or check up frequently on 'What's On' websites in order to find out every little detail out there, not unless I was really looking for something, and the net result has been that I have seen very little of what the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) offers the public. I caught on to this concert because Scottish Opera tweeted it, considering that the conductor is their Music Director, and since the programme was much to my taste, I thought I'd give it a shot. On the strength of this, I think I'll be paying more attention in the future.
It was certainly an entertaining evening. This was a highly colourful programme, and a taxing one for these young players. Things began at a very fast pace with the opening of the Falla, and it took a few bars for everyone to get up to speed. It was evident from the outset that there was a problem with articulation, and a too-covered tone in the violins, and the first trumpet was not completely comfortable with Falla's idiom, lacking the saucy, occasionally almost vulgar confidence often required from it. Still, the overall mood was conveyed well, good-humoured and invigorating, and Corti comes across as a stimulating and energetic conductor.
The orchestra for the Debussy was very good. The score there is something of a wonder; it's a very large orchestra, but the soloist is never drowned, and the orchestral palette shimmers with deft touches. The dreamy, languid opening was lovely, and built nicely into the jazzy little dance at the end. Langton (recently graduated from the RCS, and now working on a Masters there, but performing professionally) has a nice, velvety tone, but he also has a very stiff stance, with set shoulders, which looked positively uncomfortable, and was reflected in a certain lack of fluidity in his playing. I trust experience will teach him more flexibility, both musically and physically.
"Fountains" was a little unfocused at the start, but swelled into an impressive climax for the Trevi Fountain. The winds of the orchestra are very good, that was noticeable from the outset, and the brass can be, given the right conditions, which they clearly found in the bold, bright fanfares of this music. The descent back into nightfall gave some nice opportunities for wind soloists to shine, but someone is going to get his/her knuckles rapped tonight, because just as the piece was coming to its hushed conclusion, the sound of a brass instrument rehearsing backstage was clearly audible in the hall, which rather spoiled the moment.
The second half of the Falla was better than the first in general, and particularly the final Jota, when the trumpet at last sounded more at ease. However, by this time the problem that had been dogging the violins right from the beginning was all too evident. I really hate to say this, because I do not believe for one second that women cannot play with as much intensity of sound as men, but it's the only explanation I have for what was going on. The fact remains that in the entire violin section (1st and 2nd combined - maybe 12 desks in all?) I could only see one man. The members' list in the programme suggests there are only two, perhaps three, out of thirty players, and there's no doubt that the section sound lacked projection. It's not a question of volume, it's a question of the sound carrying regardless of the volume. Time and again, the peaks of phrases disappeared into the background, too soft-grained and covered. With the Falla, that only increased the sense of imprecision, and that's fatal in this music, whose rhythmic complexity demands pinpoint accuracy.
Fortunately for the overall impression left by the concert, that drawback mattered little in the final work and, in fact, the violins gave their best performance in the 'Janiculum' segment. While "Fountains" is generally considered the best of Respighi's Roman triptych, I retain a (very) soft spot for "Pines", which was my introduction to its composer when I was about eight. Respighi's often accused of being too 'Hollywood' - who are they kidding! Hollywood would have killed to get a score like this on one of their peplums! The last part, the Pines of the Via Appia, with its inexorable drum beat and its huge choir of brass resounding from every corner of the hall is a real rafter-raiser, SurroundSound before the concept was invented for the movies, and exhilaratingly delivered tonight with enormous gusto.
[Next event : 22 February]
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