Music
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Usher Hall, Edinburgh
Miranda Heggie
four stars
BOOKENDED by Brahms, Friday’s proceedings began with Nänie, a poignant work for chorus and orchestra written to commemorate the passing of a close friend. Unable to find a suitable text in neither the Bible nor the Quran, Brahms set the words of poet, playwright and philosopher Friedrich Schiller. Conductor James Feddeck smoothly guided the orchestra with grace and refinement, though the chorus here sounded a little feeble. That was certainly not the case in the second half, where their delivery was direct, clear and punchy in the UK premiere of Irish composer Gerald Barry’s Humiliated and Insulted. Named after an early Dostoevsky novel, the music is brash and jagged, and played here with a supercilious, jeering quality that perfectly captured the essence of what it is to insult.
German pianist Alice Sara Ott joined the orchestra to play Beethoven’s third piano concerto. Her range of tone was astounding, from clean and clear cut to melting impressionism. The passing of the melody between soloist and orchestra was seamless, Ott consistently communicating with the string section behind her. Feddeck’s conducting was spirited and impassioned, though still with the poise of the earlier Brahms.
The highlight of the programme however was Brahms’ Third Symphony. The majestic, unashamedly romantic sound produced here rose and fell beautifully under Feddeck’s baton, as he guided the orchestra through this meaty, stormy symphony. The deliciously melancholy third movement was particularly moving, with sumptuous string harmonies underpinned by the RSNO’s 7-strong double bass section. The final movement opened with a brooding sense of intrigue, with tension slowly building, before the sound transformed, illuminating the music in a glowing finale.
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 here