Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

The Dome Brighton, 22 September 2012

With the proms only just over we are already launched into the winter orchestral season on the South Coast. The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Rory Macdonald brought a popular programme of familiar works, but started with one which was less known to most of the audience – Dvorak’s The Noon Witch. The composer’s late tone poems are so easy on the ear it is surprising they are not better known and one has no need of the underlying story to enhance one’s enjoyment. Not that we were encouraged to do so on this occasion, as the conductor gave as a finely honed, if somewhat tongue-in-cheek rendition of the fairy-story before the orchestra started playing.

The dance rhythms and strong Czech feel to the score are immediately appealing and there is little sense of the final tragedy even when it arrives. The range of tonal colour Dvorak requires was well found both by soloists within the orchestra and the deft handling from the podium.

If the Dvorak had seemed swiftly moving this was to be true of the whole evening. In the second half we had a highly extrovert reading of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. The first two movements seemed to be looking back to stricter classical lines with the crisp clarity of phrasing and dance-like underpinning. There was little sense of the listener being able to idle away his time by the brook – which seemed to be in full flood in this reading and alive to the possibilities of creation.

If the final three movements were more conventional in approach, they continued the sense of extrovert enthusiasm and thanksgiving which had been engendered from the start. This may have been a young man’s reading – it will be interesting to note Rory Macdonald’s timing for this symphony twenty-five year hence! –  but it was none the less very welcome.

Between the two works we heard Bruch’s first violin concerto. Though enthusiastically received by the audience I had ongoing problems with the soloist Barnabas Kelemen. That he has a sound technique is not in doubt but the intensity of his vibrato and the constant sense of strident attack became unpleasant. Even the introspection of the slow movement was not allowed to flower, as the tension from the soloist was every present. The other problem I had was the constant tapping of his feet, sometimes to the point of stamping out the rhythm as if the concert was for violin and tap dancer. I was sitting towards the back of the stalls and could hear it clearly; it must have been overpowering for those sitting at the front. A great pity, for the orchestral colour and phrasing throughout was impressive in what should have been a memorable performance.

Surprisingly, for such a popular progamme, there were many empty seats.  The next concert will be the opening of the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra season on Sunday 21 October. BH