United Kingdom Brahms, Mendelssohn: Maxim Vengerov (violin), Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra / Marios Papadopoulos (conductor). Barbican Hall, London, 6.2.2023. (CC)
Brahms – Academic Festival Overture, Op.80 (1880)
Mendelssohn – Violin Concerto in E minor, Op.64 (1838-44)
Brahms – Symphony No.2 in D, Op.73 (1877)
Part of the Oxford Philharmonic’s Silver Jubilee Year celebrations, this was an attractively programmed and largely fantastically executed night. Good previous ‘meat and two veg’ concert events (the format Overture – Concerto – Symphony that in my youth was just about each symphony live performance) are few on the bottom nowadays, so this was significantly satisfying.
For the Academic Festival Overture it was good to have antiphonally positioned violins which all the time work nicely in Brahms. The orchestral placement was clearly thought-through, putting the double basses behind the primary violins to ‘ground’ their sound (it helps cease them going sharp). Marios Papadopoulos clearly has a deep understanding of Brahms’s scoring, not least within the significance of trombones to the feel. Initial rhythms had been taut; the lead-in to the well-known climactic assertion of the tune of ‘Gaudeamus igitur’ (a track historically linked to colleges, academies and universities).
The presence of Maxim Vengerov taking part in Mendelssohn, I’m positive, had quite a bit to do with the packed-out corridor (it wasn’t the entire story, since from what I may see, few left after the interval). Vengerov performed the primary motion with such ease, his centered tone projecting simply within the Barbican’s tough acoustic. While he makes it look straightforward, Vengerov additionally discovered the essence of Mendelssohn; as did Papadopoulos, with the orchestra gentle and crisp. Orchestral element was very good; fantastic to listen to so many pleasant woodwind contributions, too. The central Andante was a dream, each Vengerov and Oxford Philharmonic aglow. The stopping passage for solo violin was spectacularly good, though at this degree maybe one ought to count on nothing much less. What was really pretty was the sense of heartfelt expansiveness. The transition to the finale was impeccably judged by all, the interruptive however restrained trumpet fanfares nicely managed. The spirit of A Midsummer Night’s Dream infused the deliciously light-footed finale, the Oxford Philharmonic properly on its toes. When the music expands into a protracted melody, first on solo violin then shortly thereafter on orchestra (strings enhanced by horn), the impact was magical.
An encore – and a collaborative one. Vengerov was joined by the Oxford Philharmonic’s chief, Carmine Lauri (a well-known identify from the London Symphony Orchestra) within the finale from J. S. Bach’s Double Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043. Pure pleasure to observe the 2 violinists, successfully, banter by way of Bach. Lines had been exchanged simply (the 2 solo components are equivalents when it comes to significance and problem). The camaraderie between Vengerov and Lauri as they took applause was evident; and it was there within the music, too.
Brahms’s Second Symphony is, rightly, a perennial favorite. The first motion within the mistaken palms can sprawl; not right here, as (conducting from reminiscence) Papadopoulos’s understanding of Brahms’s processes introduced with it taut rhythms and typically beautiful orchestral balances: the significance of trombone timbre was significantly noteworthy, giving the entire a deep resonance. The pastoral foundation of the primary motion was completely realised. Nice that the second motion, marked Adagio non troppo, had the ‘non troppo’ honoured. It moved, in different phrases. Woodwind element was very good, as was Papadopoulos’s realisation of Brahms’s harmonic framework on each quick and lager scales. A particular point out for Clara Dent’s stunning oboe solo that opened the third motion. I ponder how a lot rehearsal went into the Presto non assai, as off-beat accents had been good, as had been exchanged between string and wind. The finale moved with a way of inevitability from the (not fairly collectively) opening to a blazing conclusion by way of what sounded on this efficiency like a foreshadowing of Mahler’s First Symphony.
The odd slip of ensemble apart, this was a wonderful live performance, an actual celebration of the various strengths of the Oxford Philharmonic. Here’s to the following 25 years …
Colin Clarke