Review of BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra: Donald Runnicles at Perth Concert Hall

Apr 15 2011 Perthshire Advertiser Friday

THE final orchestral concert of Perth Concert Series was given in Perth Concert Hall by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Donald Runnicles, the Perth audience lucky again in the high number of concerts with their Chief Conductor in charge.

In the course of the three works the orchestra had to adopt three differing orchestral styles and this they did magnificently. Less than 10 years old, the style was thoroughly modern for John Adams’ My Father Knew Charles Ives. The huge orchestra filled the platform, with racks of gongs and extra percussion ranged along the back wall. In the opening movement, Concord, after an opening of shimmering strings and flecks of instrumental colour the orchestra played with virtuoso assurance the glorious mess of a Charles Ives parade. In The Lake there was shimmering again, but this time of a Respighi-like glitter with a fine oboe solo from Stella McCraken, frogs in the clarinets and Glenn Miller on the radio drifting across the water from the brass. The final piece, The Mountain, started with held notes, bells and a trumpet solo. Its fast section was scherzo. Altogether the orchestra produced fantastic sound pictures in all three movements.

Mezzo Karen Cargill, due to make both her New York Met and Covent Garden débuts this year, joined the orchestra for Mahler’s five Rückert-Lieder. The slightly smaller orchestra played with chamber-like delicacy and frequently contributed playing of a world class subtlety and distinction. Karen Cargill’s plangent, warm mezzo voice put over the life, love and humour clearly, not being found wanting either in the deeply sad atmosphere of Um Mitternacht or the lost feeling and quiet intensity of Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen. Again and again there were fine orchestral contributions: Stella McCraken’s oboe, James Horan’s cor anglais and the guest Leader David Adams’ solo.

Most magnificent of the evening was the final work: Brahms’ Symphony No.2. This showed Donald Runnicles’ strength as significant detail contributed and built up to a reading that was more than the sum of its parts. Too often the opening movement is played just for beauty and fullness of sound. Runnicles’ direction avoided this slowness and heaviness. His tempo allowed and made enjoyable the repeat. Taken too slowly this becomes unbearable. His second theme was accented in a lively way, rhythm was more important than enervated legato. Woodwind detail was brought to life and the development had energy, rather than writhing. The second movement had an open-hearted generosity in its impassioned cellos, building to a vigorous, tempestuous climax. Again the (Wo)Man of the Match, Stella McCraken’s oboe was excellent in the inside out scherzo third movement. The suppressed excitement soon burst out in the final movement, which crowned the evening. The warmth of tone of the strings in the second theme was deeply satisfying and, with perhaps a non-scriptural but exciting timpani crescendo, the work ended with glorious sound.