SCO, 18/12/2015

C.P.E. Bach : Symphony in E flat, Wq 183/2
Mozart : Violin Concerto No. 1, K. 207 (Alexander Janiczek, violin)
Mozart : Rondo Concertante in B flat, K. 269 (Alexander Janiczek, violin)
Beethoven : Piano Concerto No. 3 (Llyr Williams, piano)

Scottish Chamber Orchestra

C.P.E. Bach's music is not that familiar to me, although on the strength of this short symphony it's not difficult to see why he's generally considered the most gifted of J.S. Bach's musically inclined progeny.  It's also evident that he's a seminal figure, a bridge between the Baroque and Classical styles, with structures that remain clearly linked to the old, but harmonies and colours looking forward to the new.  Emanuel Bach himself rated his set of six symphonies catalogued as Wq 183 particularly highly in his output, and this is a lively piece, very tightly constructed, to the point that it almost seems like a single movement with varied sections, although it's marked as three movements.  Although the orchestration still uses continuo, and the quiet sound of the harpsichord is heard throughout, he integrated a wind section into these symphonies for the first time, whereas previously he had written string symphonies, and then re-scored them to include winds.  He was after a grander effect with these works, however, and certainly succeeded, creating vivid contrasts of orchestral colour characteristic of the "Sturm und Drang" style of the period.

As is usual in his concerts, Alexander Janiczek directed the SCO from the violin, and either from the leader's post (in the Bach), or the soloist's, in the two Mozart works.  The five Violin Concertos were all written within a period of about thirty months, and then he barely ever wrote for violin and orchestra again.  The 1st Concerto perhaps lacks the soaring inspiration of the 3rd or 5th, but Janiczek's performance was fresh and bright-toned, well-supported by the orchestra.  Interestingly, the Rondo Concertante that followed was written, so it is supposed, as an alternative third movement for the 1st Concerto - that's something that was certainly common in opera, but I've not come across it too often in concertante works, and it was intriguing to hear this more formal Rondo movement alongside the sprightly Presto that is the "official" last movement of the concerto.

When a soloist is conducting from the keyboard, particularly that of a concert grand, normally the instrument is presented either without its lid altogether, or with it set to the low position, so that the orchestral players can see the soloist and his direction.  Llyr Wiliams, however, played with the lid up in its usual fully raised position.  Although at times he stood to give direction to the orchestra, much of the time he had to remain seated, in order to play, and it's a tribute to what was no doubt meticulous and thorough rehearsal on the part of Janiczek (resuming the leader's position) and the band that they delivered the quality of performance they did, even though surely half of them could not really see Williams too clearly.

As expected, this was a beautifully crafted performance, with playing of limpid clarity from both Williams and the orchestra.  If the concerto is Beethoven pushing at the envelope of the genre as it was known in his time, in this format, with a relatively modest-sized orchestra, its descent from the later, grander and more dramatic Mozart concertos (particularly, perhaps, the 20th and 24th) was also evident.  Always absorbing, there were moments of pure magic too; the transition from the cadenza into the coda of the first movement, shimmering arpeggios descending over whispering strings, the cadential sequences of the second movement, punctuated by delicate, detached-note scales from the piano, the playful shifts of key of the final rondo luminously delivered.  The assurance and sweetness of tone of Williams's playing was, as always, a delight to hear.

[Next : 28th December.  In the meantime, Season's Greetings to my readers]