The Northern Chamber Orchestra kicked off their 2018/19
season with a wonderful programme including Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture,
Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto and Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony to an almost full Stoller Hall.
The Hebrides Overture was inspired when Mendelssohn visited
the isle of Staffa in the Hebrides and indeed this very pleasing work invokes
both the peace and the storm of the ocean. The NCO clearly relished playing
this piece and took us on a voyage across the ocean and right in to Fingal’s
Cave – the exact location that inspired it’s creation. Nevertheless I wondered
if at times energy was lacking in this performance – an increased pace and
dynamic contrast could have lifted it. This made me consider whether this
performance could have benefited from a conductor, although for the most part
it was stirring and simply beautiful.
My concerns about the lack of conductor (which I had noted
to be a good thing in a previous review) were soon to be unfounded once the two
mighty Beethoven pieces - his third
piano concerto and his third symphony - were performed. There is indeed
something special about watching a good orchestra perform without a conductor –
the interaction between musicians is evident and I suppose that the performers
are more aware of each other and their need to respond to subtle hints and cues
in bringing the music to life, rather than depend on someone else to tell them
constantly what to do. They are much more part of the creative process and the
interpretation of the piece in the moment.
Freddy Kempf
Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, with Freddy Kempf as
soloist, was astounding. The energy and dynamic expression of both pianist and
orchestra was exhilarating from start to finish. This piece shows very clearly
how Beethoven straddled the Classical and Romantic periods and Kempf's
interpretation balanced the technical, rigorous classical approach with a
deeply expressive and meaningful interpretation. The Classical period, with
Haydn and Mozart as its most important composers, was a high point in the
history of western art music and it is fascinating to think that Beethoven took
this highly elevated form and raised it again and again. The performance of
this concerto clearly demonstrated this. Kempf interpreted Beethoven as if he
knew him as a good friend, and really lived the deep emotions that this piece
brings up. I am not ashamed to admit I had to wipe a tear at the start of the second
movement – it was transcending and deeply touching.
The applause for Kempf and the NCO after the concerto
brought him back on to stage at least three times and Kempf indulged us in an
encore of a Chopin Waltz – No. 9 in A Flat – L’Adieu. While this piece indeed has enough flourishes
and runs to show off, it is also a very emotive piece and was highly
appropriate after such a touching performance of the piano concerto – it
continued an introspective mood and gave an insight to the inner process of a musician
who, on the one hand, must be technically proficient and highly skilled, but on
the other hand, must be a storyteller, and touch the hearts of the listener
with emotions that may not even have a name.
It is hard to describe all of the processes that are
necessary to interpret music, particularly when a large group of musicians are to
perform together without a conductor. Performances should not be machine-like
renditions of what is printed on a page – they should be alive and be able to
change in the moment. Accuracy isn’t everything. This was clearly the case for
the NCO last night – their performance was alive, it was a work of art crafted
by all on stage AND it was technically stunning – accuracy serving a deeply
emotive connection to the music and the audience. As in the previous NCO
concert I reviewed, it was clear that the musicians thoroughly enjoyed
performing these pieces and that too added to the performance, giving a humble
and human dimension to an art that some people may think of as stuffy or
pompous.
Beethoven’s epic third symphony – the Heroic symphony,
originally inspired by Napoleon’s revolution, is full of motifs and ideas
related to war, heroism, mourning and victory and a certain victory it was for
the NCO with a wonderfully interpreted performance. The final movement was
exhilarating and performed at a pace that really caught your breath and had
your heart pulsing, yet it was beautifully controlled and no detail or fragment
of melody was lost, no emotion un-played. Every word, if you like, of the
narrative that this symphony contains was performed perfectly.
Reviewer - Aaron Loughrey
on - 28/9/18
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