Music

BBC SSO, City Halls, Glasgow

Catherine Robb

four stars

Dvorak’s New World Symphony is one of the main stalwarts of an orchestra’s repertoire, and the BBC SSO has programmed it many times. But despite their obvious experience in portraying Dvorak’s musical impression of America, the music did not sound second-hand or over-played. Instead, what the orchestra offered was a fresh, bright and dynamic performance, finding new ways to approach and savour an old favourite. The first and last movements were as bold and strong as they should be, the scherzo was crisp, precise, and the slow movement, thankfully, wasn’t too slow. The famous oboe solo was charmingly serene, and not over-indulgent like so many other renditions. The performance wasn’t perfect – there were some tuning errors and ensemble issues. But why would we want perfection if we were given something far more thrilling? Perhaps this novelty was down to conductor Jamie Phillips's influence. With his expressive style it seemed as if he was enjoying the music with the players, rather than dictating to them.

Beginning the concert was a suite of dances from Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera’s ballet, Estancia. The four movements were boisterous, raucous and rhythmically driving; the strings were often found scraping away determinedly. And Nerek Hakhnazaryan’s performance of Khachaturian’s Concerto-Rhapsody for cello and orchestra was just as intense, most of it frantic and impulsive, requiring a depth and power that was outwardly physically demanding. But the highlight of the afternoon was Hakhnazaryan’s encore, an unaccompanied folk song, dedicated to the 100 year memory of those lost during the Armenian genocide. As a welcome contrast to the incessant intensity of the first half, the short song was solemn, unassuming and delicately touching, music that was obviously close to the cellist’s heart.