SCO, 02/05/2014

Mozart : Symphony in D, K.203
Strauss : Duet-Concertino (Maximiliano Martín, clarinet, Peter Whelan, bassoon)
Strauss : Horn Concerto No. 1 (Alec Frank-Gemmill, horn)
Mozart : Symphony No. 36, "Linz"

Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Clemens Schuldt

This Mozart "symphony" K. 203 with which the concert began is in fact an abridged version of the Serenade No. 4, and there was a delicious comment in the programme notes from Conrad Wilson, who wrote:

"In its complete version, the "Colloredo" Serenade (...) is capable of trying the patience of an audience even when performed (...) in the open air on a warm summer evening."

How true.  Even in abbreviated form, and despite some interesting points, it's Mozart on autopilot.  Admittedly, this still means the music's markedly superior to that of 90% of Mozart's contemporaries on a good day, but when placed alongside something like the "Linz" (which is Mozart pretty much at the top of his game), it's clearly not in the same class.  The orchestra gave it as appealing a reading as could be contrived, but it was really not much more than a warm-up.

Strauss's Duet-Concertino is one of the works from the astonishing last few years of his life, his famous "Indian summer".  Written for clarinet, bassoon, strings and harp, it's his last concertante work, a sort of "Beauty and the Beast" dialogue between the two wind instruments, over a refined accompaniment of strings which sometimes breaks down into an almost baroque structure of ripieno and concerto groupings, with the first players of the five string instruments constituting a semi-autonomous ensemble within the whole.  The soloists were the SCO's own principal clarinet and bassoon, who gave a beguiling performance of this too-rarely heard gem.

The 1st Horn Concerto stands right at the other end of Strauss's career, the work of a highly assured and technically proficient 19 year-old, making his first forays into full-scale orchestral writing, of which he would quickly become one of the great masters.  Strauss wrote the work for his father, a greatly respected and admired horn player, but in the end, Franz Strauss never played the piece in public, as he was not confident of being able to meet the demands placed on the soloist, and let a younger player give the official premiere.

Alec Frank-Gemmill was able to meet the technical demands, certainly, but there was precious little emotion in his playing.   This is a gloriously exuberant extravaganza of a concerto that should make listeners want to sing along to the rich melodies, and send them off with a big smile on their faces.  Although Strauss's operas were still more than a decade away (and the first really important one more than twenty years in the offing), nevertheless it is Strauss the opera composer that both soloist and conductor need to tap into to strike the right note with this work, and that never quite came off.  To put it bluntly, Frank-Gemmill needed to lighten up, and Schuldt, an otherwise energetic conductor, clearly wasn't able to get him to do so.

Mozart could compose very rapidly when necessary, and he frequently knocked off any number of works in order to make ends meet.  Sometimes there's a distinctly slap-dash quality to such works, but other times, he was able to produce miracles of precision, grace and extraordinary inspiration.  The "Linz" is one such; famously written in extreme haste for an unexpected concert in his honour in the town of Linz, it is the first of his final batch of symphonies, which contain the finest examples of his art in this medium.  It's also one of his happiest and most festive, and given an appropriately bright and joyous reading by Schuldt and the orchestra.

[Next : 7th May]