9th September 2024
Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on 'Greensleeves'
SCHOENBERG Violin Concerto
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5
Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Tarmo Peltokoski (conductor)
My final Prom of the year took me back to the starting point - a Schoenberg celebration for his 150th birthday on 13th Sept, which happens to be a Friday (a problem if you know Schoenberg). Compared to the later "Piano Concerto", which is programmatic and surprisingly catchy, the 12-tone "Violin Concerto" doesn't have many memorable landmarks. The tone row consists mostly of 2nds and 4ths, so the melodies and harmonies sound incredibly harsh. The score gives me vertigo - how can you pitch the notes, let alone play those unnatural double stopping with natural harmonics? The final cadenza colla parte is just insane. There is no performer on the planet who has got Schoenberg in his/her DNA as much as Patricia Kopatchinskaja. She even recorded "Pierrot lunaire" as a singer. Not only did she sail through the thorny technical difficulties, but she went one step further to unearth the hidden beauty and even Classical elegance in II, and make the rondo in III almost a party singalong. Turns out this technical beast of a concerto actually has a heart. Credits to the BBC Symphony Orchestra under (the 24-year-old!) Tarmo Peltokoski as well, who assuredly accompanied the soloist antiphonically and heterophonically, perhaps even became a lyrical overkill in III. It was phenomenal. I hope they will make a recording of this. A couple of "witty" encores from PatKop and Tarmo followed, which demonstrated the latter's over-the-top pianism and skills at making duck noises. DSCH 5 after the interval was solid. The first movement had some rare transparent playing, II was hard-hitting, but overall it lacked fire and felt a bit rigid (perhaps due to limited rehearsals because of the Schoenberg). Powerful and clean performance, but wasn't a wow. RVW's "Fantasia on 'Greensleeves'" started the programme. Not sure why it was there, but it was smooth. Peltokoski seems like a safe and reliable conductor. A certain Asian orchestra should be in good hands. Need more sampling.
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