As the weekend-long Festival of Strings drew to a close, the final concert on Sunday evening came from RNCM students with special guest soloists, as the RNCM String Orchestra performed 4 substantial works from Baroque to contemporary.
The first piece showcased this evening was one of Antonio Vivaldi's Cello Concertos. Vivaldi has written more cello concertos (28 to be precise) than any other composer, but when you consider the average length of each concerto (10 minutes) then that probably isn't such a huge accolade. This evening Vivaldi's concerto in E minor (RV409) was chosen, which actually is a double concerto, meaning the solo instrument wasn't just the cello but also in this instance the bassoon. However, today's concert turned all that on its head completely as we heard a new arrangement of this concerto for solo double bass and concert strings.
To play the double bass, we welcomed soloist Bozo Paradzik, and I have to be honest, I have never heard anyone make that instrument sound so lyrical and clean-cut before. Quite astounding.
Following this, we heard Haydn's Cello Concerto conducted by Head of Strings at thr RNCM, Chris Hoyle, with the solo cello played by Miklos Perenyi. I am not a huge fan of Haydn or of early Classical music in general. That being said however, one must acknowledge Haydn's not insignificant contribution to the development and popularisation of the style known as 'Classical'. And if any composer during this period deserves attention, then it is undoubtedly him. The RNCM Strings were in fine form under their tutor's baton, with Perenyi extracting as much meaning and feeling from the piece as it is possible to do. Excellently played and interpreted.
After a short interval we came back to the RNCM String Orchestra ameliorated with 11 string students from Chetham's School Of Music. yet another wonderful example of how the RNCM is collaborating with others for the good of all. Just as students at the RNCM collaborate with well-known and respected practitioners in the industry, they are also there to help, encourage and nurture those younger and less experienced as themselves, and this idea of incorporation is something the RNCM are both passionate about and very good at.
The two pieces after the interval were led from the first violin by Henning Kraggerud. Kraggerud is a Norwegian musician, composer and educator, currently the Artistic Director of The Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchetra based in Tromso, the world's most northerly classical orchestra. The first of these pieces was one of his own compositions, which, taking inspiration from Norse mythology, was titled, "Solens Dattir" (The Sun's Daughter). Kraggerud spoke briefly beforehand about the piece and how it spoke of a Norwegian style Armageddon where only two people survive hiding in a wood and drinking sap, and between them they start a new life with a new sun, the daughter of our current sun. Thematic pieces like this - (perhaps we could call them Tone Poems?) - are always much more interesting for me, and I was enthralled by this rather unusual piece played with such zest by Kraggerud as he inspired the young players with his passion.
The final piece was again introduced by Kraggerud, and he spoke of how, when the first atomic bomb was tested in Nevada in 1945, the radio frequency used by the military was the same as that of a local radio station. Therefore they had music to listen to whilst watching the test. That music was Tchaikovsky's Serenade For Strings. It was an interesting piece of trivia, and needed no further exemplification. However once the Serenade started I immediately picked up on the fact that Kraggerud was directing this piece differently. He had given the music a gravitas and a darker meaning than that intended by the composer. It sounded heavy and prophetic, not light and musical. The word 'serenade' is a piece of lyrical music, played in the evening, usually by a would-be lover to woo his sweatheart. The word 'serenade' could not be used at all in the playing of Kraggerud's version sadly. Even in the lighter, more dance-oriented middle section, the music was kept dark and ominous. A sense of foreboding prevailed over the piece. In the middle of this Kraggerud had had a sound effect created of the 1945 testing of the bomb.. we heard an American voice giving a countdown and then a bomb blast before they continued to play the music, thus giving this airy and gentle piece of music a very sinister and for me, completely unforgiveable, resonance. Giving me the general knowledge snippet prior to the piece was interesting, but to take that into the music itself and completely alter Tchaikovsky's intent and alter the feel and mood of the music so much was sadly taking things far too far for me, thinking it very self-indulgent on the part of the conductor, and left the concert feeling hugely disgruntled, despite Kraggerud's obvious talent.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 12/1/20
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