It's the piece linked to above, Nocturne op.54 No.4 in C major.

What a damn shame, Jules. The 5th, played well, is a stunning accomplishment. Ravishing, as you say.

Royal Festival Hall 1/10/23

Cristian Macelaru, conductor
Nicola Benedetti, violin

Philharmonia Orchestra

Nico Muhly: One Line, Two Shapes
Brahms: Violin Concerto
Rachmaninov: Symphony No.3

I was so looking forward to this concert, with the Brahms and Rach being two of my favourite works. The lure of mercurial Ms B sealed the deal.

I have to say that the Muhly was a fascinating way to start the evening. Here's the picture it immediately suggested. Imagine a person lying in a coma in a clinic. Silence. The doctors suddenly apply electric shock therapy (!!!) but nothing happens. Eventually after repeated attempts there are signs of life and eventually the patient starts to respond. As you might imagine it's somewhat shocking (sorry) in terms of the weight of the musical dynamics but I was gripped, finding it most original and engaging.

Now, the Brahms. I feel a weighty burden on my shoulders to do it some kind of justice for you. In a fascinating and most welcome post performance interview, Ms Benedetti referred to -

"The lasting impact of a single moment, bringing people together"

The Brahms achieved that in the most profound manner possible. The excellent Philharmonia set up her entrance with grand panache and a huge sense of expectation. And then ... oh dear, I struggled to hear Benedetti's violin cut through! Was it an issue of balance or was it my position in the choir? After this initial panic normal service was soon resumed thankfully. The first movement felt like a Turner oil painting, depicting a stormy scene that gradually resolves to calm, with a dewy spring sunshine. And what an immensely weighty and turbulent reading it was, with Ms B showing a fanatical commitment to the score. I can tell you absolutely nothing was held back, indeed she was playing right on the edge of sanity with steel and ardour. The purity of her Baroque tone astounded me, it had never sounded better.

The second movement began with a sublime oboe solo and then, we heard a dog yapping somewhere in the audience! Had someone smuggled one into the hall?? Everyone looked around perplexed. Somehow it was only after the concert that I realised it was a mobile ring tone ... Doh. Ms Benedetti was not put off her stride, delivering an iridescent reading that was hugely moving and maintained the perfect balance of richly stoic lyricism and power. I have rarely heard a performer so married to the music and felt entirely intoxicated by the unfolding drama.

But how would she maintain this unfaltering alliance? Well the orchestra gave her absolutely everything in the third and she responded in the most remarkable way. I couldn't help thinking of that scene in The Red Violin in which the boy prodigy plays so hard and fast he promptly keels over, caput. Was Nicola going to spontaneously combust? Well I couldn't take my eyes off her, I was mesmerized by her virtuosity, but this wasn't a vainglorious technical exercise, it was a musical talent at the very peak of self-expression. And the stamina!  She just never wavered from her quest to deliver a Brahms like never before in the modern concert hall. In her interview she also mentioned -

"Risking everything to get to the heart of what composer wanted"

Yes. That's it, right there!  This is what Ms Benedetti accomplished. With risk can come the greatest of rewards and I can say she was given an extraordinary standing ovation like I have never seen; the joy on people's faces to have witnessed such deep artistry. A performance that for me will go down in history. In the noble pantheon of the greats it deserves to be up there with any name you care to mention. The ovation continued some ten minutes or so and it was lovely to see her reciprocate so warmly, acknowledging the connection with her audience. The outstanding Cristian Macelaru eventually stood to the side of the stage to allow our soloist to bask in the full glow of the applause, a very classy gesture, and he can be so proud of the part he and the Philharmonia played in the evening.

What else can we say about Nicola Benedetti? Virtuoso violinist, music educator, festival director - how many strings to her bow can she manage? A most remarkable young lady, I thank her for a musical memory that will stay with me forever.

Thank you Martin, it really was something else.

Do you think the opening section was played deliberately flat in order to ramp up the excitement later?

Milton Court - 18 Oct 2023

Mullova Ensemble: Transfigured Night
with music by Jasmine Morris

That will teach me.

When I looked at this concert on the Barbican website all I really saw was Viktoria Mullova, Verklärte Nacht, and that sealed it for me. It must have been over a decade since I saw her perform the Brahms at the Royal Festival Hall and I was keen to reacquaint myself with her artistry. But I had failed to grasp that this was a full multimedia performance with music, dance and visuals. Sitting in my seat it dawned on me as I saw the projected backdrop, that I really should read the programme, so I frantically tried to download it but there was no signal; as the performance started I realised that I didn't really have a clue what was happening!

Clair de Lune and solo Bach from Mullova passed by, interspersed with movement from a lone dancer, which whilst most engaging had no context for me. Only later did I realise what was transpiring.

"Punctuated by Jasmine Morris’s electronic music using samples of Verklärte Nacht and by verses of the Richard Dehmel poem that inspired Schoenberg projected behind the stage, the Mullova Ensemble plays music that anticipates the themes of Schoenberg’s work ..."

" ...with a seventh performer to represent the force of love, the transfiguring power from the poem – a character like a spirit who would move around the stage and open the space for the mysticism of the transfigured night."

Ah, yes, an appreciation of that would have been useful indeed.  It turns out that cellist Matthew Barley (husband of Ms Mullova) conceived this project and actually had it in his sights for some 25 years!

In spite of my fateful ignorance I did find much to enjoy on its own terms. There was a remarkable scene in which one of the cellists improvised in a way that reminded me of a snake charmer, the dancer responding lithely to every stroke of the bow. And then a violinist joined them on stage and had to Incorporate movement into his performance to play off the dancer. I must say this was beautifully choreographed. Over the work as a whole I found that some of the dancer's movements became a little repetitive but there was much to enjoy in her performance that included everything from classical ballet to street dance.

The evening finished with the string sextet performing Verklärte Nacht in it's entirety. This was for the most part utterly engrossing. The musical understanding between the six had such a depth, as if the work was somehow hewn in their very souls. My attention only briefly wandered at one point in the latter stages whereby a gorgeously lyrical new theme arrived right on cue for Viktoria Mullova to emote on, quite sublimely, in the muted upper registers. Her performance showcased her talents perfectly and it was such a treat to see her on a London stage again.

Basingstoke Anvil 'Iconic Classics' Sat 18 November 2023

Brahms Tragic Overture
Grieg Piano Concerto
Beethoven Symphony No.5

Stephen Scotchmer
Roman Kosyakov - piano
Basingstoke Symphony Orchestra

The Brahms was instantly forgettable as with much of his output for me. The Grieg, however, was fantastic with Kosyakov playing superbly well and the BSO giving great accompaniment. Kosyakov played with much feeling and was clearly 'in the zone' from beginning to end. He even played an encore, a piece which may have been Chopin but I'm not sure.

The Beethoven was played freshly, one of my favourite symphonies especially the 'Sunrise' in the third movement. It's wonderful to hear this old warhorse played with such vigour,  and the only errors (mostly in the brass section) are entirely understandable for an amateur orchestra. In fact, I would put the BSO up there with the Amati as the best amateur orchestra I've heard.

"Command Performance: Music for an Empress"
Academy of Ancient Music

23 Nov 2023 Milton Court

Laurence Cummings - director & harpsichord
Alexandra Lowe - soprano

Maria Teresa Agnesi -  'Licenza' from Sofonisba
Joseph Haydn -  Symphony No 48 in C major, Maria Theresa
Mariana Martinez -  Berenice, che fai
Johann Adolph Hasse - Sinfonia from Ruggiero
Mariana Martinez - Concerto for Harpsichord in E major
Christoph Willibald Gluck - 'Non vi turbate' from Alceste
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Symphony No 7 in D major
Maria Teresa Agnesi - 'Rapido turbin vedo'

< They called her the ‘mother-in-law of Europe', but as monarch, war-leader, diplomat and patron of the arts, the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria was one or the most extraordinary rulers in European history. Tonight, the Academy of Ancient Music pays homage: recreating an era of splendour, innovation and music without limits. >

I thought this a wonderful premise for a programme of inspired period music but the setting left something to be desired. Milton Court is perfectly functional for chamber music recitals but hardly inspirational on a dark and windy evening. A baroque church would have been much more fitting, but it was down to the music to take us to Vienna and back!  Sadly we got off to a rather tepid start with the Agnesi, surely the programme promised much more than this. Instead of being transported to Vienna we were firmly stuck in East London. It seemed somewhat strange that the opening was quite reserved with a middling tempo, I was expecting more of a flourish and fanfare. We needed an instant injection of energy which we promptly received with the Haydn and this was a relief. The courtly ‘Maria Theresa’ symphony did what it needed to do and had a spritely energy about it, whilst the slower movements were as refined as you’d hope for and beautifully played. Then came the Martinez song - what drama and emotions! Alexandra Lowe showed herself to be the consummate performer - it was pure theatre, delivered most powerfully and acted to perfection. Very interesting to see the baroque oboists switch to flutes when required; now that’s versatility and talent. I am sure Maria Theresa herself would have approved of this performance and so did I - it turned out to be my favourite work of the evening. A lovely way to reach the interval.

For the Hasse Sinfonia timpani were added and the brass received reinforcements, both bringing greater heft and authority to the sound. Not an especially memorable work but the period sound of AAM was particularly impressive again. The Harpsichord concerto wasn’t especially remarkable either but it was impossible not to be impressed and entertained by the nimble dexterity and mastery of the instrument displayed by Laurence Cummings. The Gluck was most dreamlike with such a refined vocal performance again from Alexandra Lowe. Certainly a name to look out for. I took the opportunity to close my eyes for a while and luxuriate in the splendid tones and timbre of the orchestra where the two oboists excelled once more.

Now you know that I’m not the biggest fan of Wolfgang Amadeus but this was truly a wonderful performance by the orchestra, their best of the night for sure. The sound was so satisfying that it almost had a period seal of authenticity and nothing was left to question. Particularly strong work from the horns and I was entranced by the propulsive rhythms; the energy was maintained to the very final notes by these super committed performers. The sense of unity and harmony was really quite remarkable. We finished as we started with an Agnesi song which again I found a slightly odd choice of bookend for my personal taste. I only really remember Alexandra Lowe’s compelling technique and I felt that it really needed a different acoustic with some more depth and decay to really do it justice.

One thing you get from AAM is an immaculate performance but due to the choice of programme, for me this was 3 star event when I was hoping for a 5 star jewel in Maria Theresa’s glittering crown.

I now have the details of those superb encores -

"The first was Bach's Prelude in E Minor, BWV 855 from Book I of the Well Tempered Clavier, in a transcription by Alexander Siloti that changes the key to in B Minor. The second was one of Bach's Chorale Preludes, BWV 734 'Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein' in a ferociously difficult transcription by Busoni."