BIRTWISTLE Sonance Severance 2000
RAVEL Piano Concerto
XENAKIS Jonchaies
STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring
Tom Borrow (piano)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Martyn Brabbins (conductor)
Closer friends of mine know that I have lived in PTSD-induced self-isolation for a while. Who would have thought, everything considered, the sole reason I got out of my little cave was to go and see a performance of a Xenakis orchestral work? Am I a fan of Xenakis or otherwise noise compositions? Not at all, but if it's not a Xenakis centenary celebration, one rarely gets a chance to hear his earth-shattering works live so I was merely there to earn a bragging right. Calling for 109 musicians, "Jonchaies" is a 15-minute work that has most of the musicians constantly participating in some ferocious glissandi, thus generating a sumptuous and complex texture that was (in)famous in the bygone era of the avant garde. It is basically stochastic noise, except, pretty rare for Xenakis, the work is actually somewhat melodious and rhythmic, which makes it a nice companion work to "The Rite of Spring" that was to come in the second half. It's not everyday you get to see the entire brass section going berserk sliding up and down their entire registers, while the pretty chill conductor Martyn Brabbins beating, as far as I noticed, mostly 4/4. It did not smack me in the face as much as I anticipated, and the piccolo duet at the end did not pierce through my eardrums, but it really was quite an experience. The Prom opened with a short Birtwistle piece in commemoration of the late composer. "Sonance Severance 2000" is a 5-minute overture-like piece that sounds pretty warm for Birtwistle. I wasn't actually in the mood to hear the Ravel PC again live, but when the cor anglais solo hit in II, I was reminded how much live music used to mean to me, how everything has changed during this five-year hiatus, and of the brave Ukrainians who played on this same stage this very morning, and I choked up a bit under the mask. It was a pretty average performance frankly. Nice tone and nuances from the young Tom Borrow, but overall it lacks the flair and rhythmic vitality the music calls for. It did hit a soft spot though. "The Rite of Spring" was solid, incisive at times, always exciting to hear live. You can't go wrong with the veteran BBC SO. It's 2022, the audience actually missed Birtwistle at the Proms, erupted in applause for Xenakis and everyone around me in the arena headbanged to "The Rite of Spring". A bunch of kids under 10 left the RAH dancing to the lingering pulse of "Danse sacrale". Time has irreversibly changed, and we need to embrace it. It's beautiful, if you choose to see it that way.
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