Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh
Saturday 4th March
Four Stars
Miranda Heggie
Commissioned by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Saturday evening’s concert saw the world premiere of Sir James MacMillan’s Concertino for Horn and Strings. The final, most substantial movement is a reworking of his 2007 horn quintet, and is precluded by three, short, ‘preludial’ movements. Beginning with solo horn and four violas in the gallery, and the rest of the strings on stage, the interplay between musicians up and downstairs was effective and engaging. SCO principal horn Alec Frank-Gemmill opened with immediately arresting playing, his warm timbre beautifully shining through the dense harmonies in the strings. Producing a remarkable breadth of tone and colour, Frank-Gemmill constantly reinvented MacMillan’s forlorn leitmotif, before calmly exiting the stage during the work’s final bars to conclude the piece with serene solo fragments heard from outside the hall, gradually fading into nothingness.
Conductor Andrew Manze drew a vibrant energy from the orchestra, opening Beethoven’s 2nd symphony with bold and vigorous strength. Manze’s insight into the work was evident, as he led the orchestra with dynamic rigour. The second, larghetto movement had a lush, thick sound, while the third, scherzo: allegro was given some rather serious undertones by swelling lower strings. The final movement saw clear, yet rich playing from clarinets and bassoons, and immaculate precision from Matthew Hardy on timpani.
Opening with Benjamin Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, the orchestra’s string section was on tremendous form, playing with a raw energy under Manze’s sensitive baton. Moving through agitated oscillations, dark, brooking rumblings, and moments of tender poignancy, Manze brought Britten’s tribute to his teacher to a close with a tight, colourful flourish.
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