BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Runnicles
MacMillan Violin Concerto/Symphony No4
Onyx Classics
WHILE not in the Naxos school of budget simplicity, the Onyx Classics label does not go in for the sort of elaborate packaging of some of its peers in classical recording, and there is something about that straightforwardness that suits this release. His latest Symphony is arguably one of the best expressions of "pure music" in MacMillan's substantial catalogue, boasting no narrative or discernible theme, although the composer does describe it as a homage to Renaissance Scottish composer Robert Carver. It is dedicated to the conductor here, Donald Runnicles, and this is the recording of its premiere at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall last year. There is a frisson in the fact that it is live, but it is also easy to hear why re-recording was rejected as an option because the playing, across every section of the orchestra, is of such energy and commitment that replicating its would have been a tall order.
The concerto, with dedicatee Vadim Rapin as soloist, was produced by Andrew Trinick in Glasgow City Halls in the spring of this year and is just as fine, its mix of Irish folk melodies and brief German text (voiced by SSO cellist Gillian de Groote) surely identifying the composer's opposition to Brexit.
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