BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
City Halls Glasgow
Thursday 9th February
Four Stars
Miranda Heggie
Under the astute baton of Martin Brabbins, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra produced a crisp, polished sound at Glasgow’s City Halls on Thursday. Haydn’s 8th Symphony, titled Le Soir by the composer, and the final symphony of a group of three, with Le Matin and le Midi preceding it, opened with mature, robust string playing, with double basses lending some deliciously fruity undertones. The third minuet movement was in danger of sounding a little stodgy, though leader Laura Samuels injected the electricity back into the music with a sharp and florid opening to the final movement, aptly dubbed La Tempesta.
Having just about doubled in size, the orchestra then welcomed to the stage Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, to play Ravel’s piano concerto, written for the left hand only, having been commissioned by the Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein who lost his right arm in the first world war. Dark, almost primal sounds ensued from the double basses’ open-stringed arpeggiated opening bars, before Bavouzet entered with a vibrant splash of colour. His light, yet decisive playing glided seamlessly between vivid tutti passages, and fluid, dreamy solo melodies.
Michael Tippett's 2nd symphony began with a fiery energy, Brabbins’ concise conducting leading the orchestra with a strong, driven momentum. Even the more lyrical string passages had an unsettling, intriguing quality, in what was a stirring performance of this work. The second movement, Adagio molto e tranquillo had a ponderous quality, seeming to end on a question, and one which was swiftly answered by the business of the third Presto veloce. It was the brass section who undoubtedly stole the show in this concert, with thick, well rounded chords and glittering peals.
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