ON Friday night at the SCO's concert I felt as though I had been smacked in the face.
Twice. I can only assume that, as they played through the Scottish cities last week they knew they were onto a flier, and that that realisation propelled the SCO to the startling heights of electric performance they achieved with conductor Thierry Fischer in Glasgow.
I shouldn't have been shocked by what I heard: I know as well as anyone the SCO's amazing technical excellence. I know all about their wonderful homogeneity of ensemble, though how they secure the detail within that remains a wonder. I know their strength and power – and remember that that power is emanating from a small band.
But knowing all this did not prepare me for the staggering display of high voltage playing with which they delivered Stravinsky's Pulcinella on Friday. It wasn't brawn: they dug right into the surface and down into the soil of the piece; and what thay unearthed, led by guest leader Daniel Rowland from the Brodsky Quartet, was earth-moving and shattering. I do not think I have heard better playing from within the heart, mind, soul and instruments of this band. This was sheer class; with grit.
The second smack in the face came through the mind-blowing oboe playing of Francois LeLeux, a poet and acrobat of his instrument, whose electrifying playing of James MacMillan's sensational Oboe Concerto was nothing less than astonishing. A superbly rounded Mendelssohn Four brought us gently down from the dizzy heights of the night.
HHHHH
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article