21st August 2016
Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom
MATTHIAS PINTSCHER Reflections on Narcissus
MENDELSSOHN A Midsummer Night's Dream
Alisa Weilerstein (cello)
Katherine Broderick (soprano)
Clara Mouriz (mezzo-soprano)
Mark Benton (Bottom)
Alex Hassell (Oberon/Theseus)
Simon Manyonda (Puck)
Sinead Matthews (Hermia/Fairy/Mistress Quince)
Sam Swann (Lysander/Snout/Philostrate)
Michelle Terry (Titania/Hippolyta)
Bijan Sheibani (stage director)
Finchley Childrens Music Group
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Matthias Pintscher (conductor)
It was love at first sight - this is the unifying theme tonight. For all its epic Shakespearean drama of people falling in love with the wrong people, it is actually incredibly difficult to have the chance to hear Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in its entirety, complete with play excerpts and acting in the way Mendelssohn intended. The performance actually went on to intrude the audience, with Puck roaming in the middle of the arena (thankfully it was nowhere near full tonight) and Nick Bottom taking a selfie with the audience. As expected, current Ensemble Intercontemporain Music Director Matthias Pintscher conducted the BBC Scottish SO in his usual cool, precise, transparent style that is sometimes dry and metronomic. I could do with a more dramatic Overture, but Mendelssohn's music is so self-sufficient that can make any audience tap their feet. This is music that reminded me why I fell in love with music at age 10. The Nocturne is what makes you believe in love and what comes after is what you always hear at the culmination of love. The Finchley Childrens Music Group was very well-rehearsed, and they seemed very happy to contribute, which brought smiles on everyone's faces and were awarded the biggest applause tonight, surpassing the winds which were outstanding in the Scherzo. The actors were a bit uneven, but I could not tell if the slightly urban accents were deliberate or not. Simple joy was preceded by something not so simple, Pintscher's own cello concerto "Reflections on Narcissus" performed by the wondrous Alisa Weilerstein. I am not good enough to work out what it has to do with reflections, but it has all the lovable Boulezian aesthetics - sensuous harmonies, expansiveness generated by static beauty, ecstatic virtuosity, nuanced timbres arrangements and motifs and figures that travel in blocks across the orchestra. It was thrilling, breathtaking and astonishingly beautiful at the same time, and was wonderfully performed too. I think I have fallen in love with this piece on first hearing. It was all very dreamy.
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