EIF tribute won't stop composer returning to musical hinterland

Classical music writer

Saturday 15 September 2012

THERE is an Edinburgh International Festival loose end to be picked up today.

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Michael Tumelty

What next for the music of Karol Szymanowski, Poland's finest composer since Chopin, and a gargantuan figure of considerable excess? He had his day in the sun during the 2012 EIF, with all four of his symphonies and both of his violin concertos being performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under Valery Gergiev. And remember that EIF director Jonathan Mills has already championed Szymanowski's music in a production of the opera King Roger, along with several smaller-scale pieces.

So what next? Does Szymanowski return to the hinterland of the repertoire and the near-obscurity he has generally inhabited? I fear so. Of course the First Violin Concerto, consistently championed by a number of big name soloists (not least Nicola Benedetti, who'll play it again in November) has nudged its way towards the periphery of mainstream orchestral repertoire. But the symphonies, as different as they are from each other and just about every other symphony in the book? I have met, in the last month just one single individual who stated categorically that, after the LSO/Gergiev/Szymanowski experience, he felt he had "discovered" the composer and would be pursuing that discovery through the CD medium.But generally, though it was a great tribute to the composer to have his symphonies hauled on to the international stage of the Edinburgh Festival, one must ask: does that help? Such exposure, as vital as it is, is ephemeral. For four nights he was centre stage; a big hit, for sure, with these forces and resources. But is Szymanowski's music good enough to make it to the mainstream on its own? No it is not, I would suggest. If that were the case, then the music would have been championed for many years now, and some of it, at least, would have become established in the mainstream repertoire of our symphony orchestras. My view is that Symanowski, a bit of a symphonic maverick, needs help. He needs a conductor, an orchestra and an audience that can be trusted to be committed to the cause. It needs to be here, at grassroots level, on our home turf. That's where the difference might be made: it's what Alex Gibson did with Sibelius in Scotland from 1959, when he took over the SNO and was instrumental in putting the music of Sibelius on the global map.Now Szymanowski is not Sibelius; no one is. Moreover, arguably, Szymanowski's music is uneven; Sibelius's is not. But, there's something there. And if, after a pause following the recent festival missionary work, say in five or 10 years, someone were to take up the cause in Scotland, it could be the RSNO. Through their fantastic marketing and events promotional efforts – think of the Naked Classics potential here – they could go into the record books through that championship. They could really make a difference. I have no idea if they might have, now or within a decade, a conductor sympathetic to the cause. The BBC SSO could do it as well but I wouldn't attempt to fathom the complexities of Radio 3 commitments, which are factors if the SSO is involved in a project.But if either orchestra could find a champion, it might make all the difference. Someone has to bring this true original's music in from the cold. In Scotland we could give it intense, and perhaps unique, attention. I am certain, from the comments of many professional musicians and seasoned aficionados, that the majority of listeners think we should leave Szymanowski alone and let his over-the-top music languish on the sidelines. I'm not of that view.Meanwhile, as a starter, treat yourself on October 11, when the SSO opens its City Hall concert with a performance of Szymanowski's early Concert Overture, opus 12, not played by Gergiev, and a brilliant Straussian overture, written with exhilarating panache.

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EIF tribute won't stop composer returning to musical hinterland

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