Usher Hall 20/03/26
Royal Scottish National Orchestra Kristiina Poska conductor, Anna Dennis soprano
After her successful appearance with the RSNO in 2023, it was a pleasure to welcome back the charismatic Estonian conductor, Kristiina Poska, to conduct an interesting programme of Pärt, Elena Langer and Tchaikovsky. A decent audience had turned up, if not packed to the rafters. I suppose the sometimes dreaded words, World Premiere, had deterred some but we were all treated to an excellent concert on a pleasant spring evening.
The programme began with Arvo Pärt’s beautiful tribute to Benjamin Britten, ‘Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten’ from 1977. This was one of the first works to announce to the world the existence of a major new composer in the firmament, the Estonian, Arvo Pärt. After watching the Gesualdo Six performing the same composer’s wonderful ‘Passio’ last Friday in St Andrews, it was a delight to listen to another of his masterpieces this week. Reacting to the death of Britten in 1976, at the age of 63, Pärt, who had recently completely changed his thinking about composition, and life in general, wrote a comparatively simple piece for strings and a tubular bell, which somehow manages to convey deep sympathy and reverence for the older composer. A single bell tolls out a mournful tone, over which the strings, entering in canon, play descending scales of A Minor, crescendoing throughout until a final mournful chord, and a silence ensues leaving only the vestiges of the last peal of the bell. It is utterly simple and utterly magical, one of the first compositions to demonstrate Pärt’s new musical invention, ‘Tintinnabulation’, a ringing or tinkling of bells, named after the poetic term popularised by Edgar Allan Poe. I first started studying at Aldeburgh in Suffolk in 1978 at the Britten-Pears School, and experienced the same sadness as Pärt at not having met Britten. His memory permeated the whole summer school complex at Snape, but I always regretted not actually meeting him in person. I went on to sing many roles created by the English composer, and have been profoundly influenced by his music.
Kristiina Poska created a magical sheen of sound with the strings of the RSNO, and the audience responded ecstatically to the opening piece. The second work on the programme was also warmly applauded, although I was less certain of its merits.
The world premiere of the RSNO commission, Elena Langer’s ‘The Lives of Birds’ featured the soprano, Anna Dennis, a specialist in contemporary music, and the full might of the RSNO. Therein for me lay the problem, as, from where I was sitting in the centre of the Stalls, hardly a word could be discerned. They were clear on the screen above the orchestra, but if that’s the only way to have any idea what the soloist was singing, there is a problem. Anna Dennis is blessed with a lovely voice, but not a huge one, and she was consistently swamped by the orchestra. Even some of the often very high-lying vocal part was hard to hear, and I just wish the balance could have been adjusted beforehand. This is the trouble with a three day set of concerts (Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow) – there isn’t really time to make acoustic adjustments each day, as the singer has to preserve her voice for the evening performances.
What I could hear was not unpleasant, and Elena Langer’s music is approachable and interesting. We previously heard her composition, ‘The Dong with a Luminous Nose’ in 2024, and I remember it rather fondly, but this song cycle to words by the poet Glyn Maxwell left me somewhat cold. The programme notes which I read after the concert were rich in ideas and symbolism, and I would like to hear the composition again in a more helpful acoustic. No blame can be attached to Anna Dennis, who looked terrific in green and obviously was extremely involved in the piece. I am sorry not to be able to give any more of a review, but you can only review what you hear, and most of what I did hear was the RSNO, fine though that was!
Fortunately, after the interval, we were privileged to listen to a truly fabulous account of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, dating from 1878, two years after the composer had been present at the premiere of Richard Wagner’s magnum opus, ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’ at Bayreuth. Tchaikovsky, famously, was underwhelmed by Wagner’s vision of the future, and this majestic symphony, although originally receiving a lukewarm reception, was his answer to the current trend, and has become one of the most popular symphonies in the repertoire. This was why I was surprised that the concert wasn’t sold out, as every performance of the Fourth should be a major event.
This one was fantastic. Kristiina Poska was in total command from the first earth-shattering statement of the great Fate theme in the brass, and her commitment and thrilling conducting never faltered throughout the 45 minutes of the symphony. The first movement is one of symphonic music’s finest creations, as the composer leads us through a cornucopia of emotions, and the RSNO rose to the occasion. Ms Poska is that rare species, a left-handed conductor (like Donald Runnicles), and I am always interested to see how an orchestra responds to a beat from a different hand. It’s more different than one might expect. Her style is extremely fluid and demonstrative, and even watching from behind was a fascinating experience. She certainly produced wonderful playing from the orchestra, with monumental climaxes, suave Russian harmonies and outstanding contributions from all the principal musicians, in particular Adrian Wilson’s glorious oboe solo in the second movement. This symphony represents the first and perhaps most evocative melding of Western sonata form with Tchaikovsky’s native Russian feelings. The languid melancholy of the second movement leads into the extraordinary pizzicato Scherzo, which in turn drives us into the apocalyptic Finale, a tightly constructed whirlwind which is designed to sweep us off our feet in a frenzy of triumphant playing. Ms Poska was our guide through this amazing musical journey, and the ovation at the end was a testament to her success.
Tchaikovsky’s Fourth is one of my all time favourite symphonies, and this superb performance showed why. Bravo RSNO!