Friday
6 Aug 2004 Esplanade
Concert Hall
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Singapore Symphony Orchestra |
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GLAZUNOV The Sea, Op. 28 * Singapore Premiere
Singapore
Symphony Orchestra
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OVERALL NOISE RATING: 1.5
(exceptionally well-behaved
audiences, some coughing)
The Noise Rating Index is a partially-objective measurement of pager and handphone blasts, 9pm and 10pm watch beeps, coughing-during-the-pianissimo-bits, intra-audience conversation and other mind-bogglingly inept noises emitted in the concert hall during actual performance of music. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 5, in increasing annoyance.
This review has been kindly sponsored by the
Singapore
Symphonia Company
AUDIENCE ESTIMATE: 40%
by Derek Lim
It’s not every day
that you get the chance to hear a saxophone concerto, much less three. Tonight’s
programme was rather brilliantly conceived, even if the overall effect was
somewhat overwhelming. Many in the audience were introduced to at least one new
composer tonight, as indeed I was.
Glazunov’s The Sea was dedicated to Wagner’s memory, and as the programme
booklet rightly noted, owes not a little to his Flying Dutchman (Die Fliegende
Holländer) overture, although the finished product is decidedly non-Wagnerian in
style, with its military (snare-drum and cymbals) orchestration in places more
reminiscent of Berlioz. Those familiar with Glazunov’s symphonies and the famous
violin concerto will surely find echoes of those works in this work.
The work itself, with its detailed program, dwells more in florid use of colour
and orchestral effects than in musical development, and in terms of this Lan
Shui and the orchestra did well. The variety of orchestral colour was wider than
usual, with the harp cadenza played well. Playing in the string was a tad murky
at first, but this resolved later. Overall it was a straightforward performance
of the piece, which can come off as sprawling and unwieldy. The middle section,
with its storm was particularly vigorous and exciting.
Even among French composers,
Florent Schmitt’s (1870 – 1958) name is one that has lapsed into relative
obscurity. Prior to the evening I had heard none of his music. In spite of the
worthy technique, with harmony especially strongly redolent of Debussy
(especially his clarinet rhapsodie), the work itself comes across as
ill-focused. The piece was written as a result of a commission from a wealthy
American lady ordered to learn a wind instrument in order to improve her
breathing, and the viola and violin are alternatives for the solo part. Despite
the harmony, Florent Schmitt’s style has a strong Germanic feel to it, and
Claude Delangle played the solo saxophone part with aplomb, weaving sinuous
lines between the orchestral fabric. His tone is sleek and polished, pliable and
dark.
It was in the next two works, somewhat similar in style, where Delangle
distinguished himself with his virtuosity and suppleness on the alto saxophone.
The Concertino de Camera (chamber concerto) by Ibert was an eye-opener (I
had only heard his Escales prior to the concert). In this ebullient work,
written specially for the saxophone, the instrument comes into its own. Ibert
must have had a very good feel for the instrument – it sounds right at home in
this music – as well as a fine idea about how to go about matching instruments
with the saxophone. The work was premiered in 1935, and reflects perfectly the
Big Band influences of the era (1935-1945).
The SSO played the busy, nervy orchestral accompaniment with verve and
precision, with only the end of the first movement not as together as it could
have been, a minor quibble really. Delangle’s playing and manner seemed to
reflect the nature of the music, with a swing to it that was very appropriate.
The long saxophone solo that opens
the slow movement was lyrical, with beautiful tone from the low to the top
ranges, with great projection that was a little loud only in the highest
registers. The third movement, played attacca, was as buoyantly played as
it could have been, with Delangle in his element, reveling in the difficulties
of the many runs on the solo saxophone. The short cadenza was thrown off with
confidence and the coda after was boisterous and exciting and unbuttoned.
Darius Milhaud (MEE-yo) (1892-1974) was a very prolific
composer, and his music never fails to be interesting. In his Scaramouche,
arranged from the incidental music that Milhaud wrote for Moliere’s play Le
Medicin Volant. Another work influenced by the newly emerging jazz movement
of the time, Scaramouche is an irresistibly frothy and bubbly work, with not an
ounce of excess fat (the three movements last a total of ten minutes). It is a
gem, and if you don’t have a recording of it, you might want to invest some into
getting one.
The exciting first movement – Vif – French for lively, engaged me from
the start and is such infectiously amiable music that I found myself smiling, as
did my fellow concertgoers. Again the music is full of swing, and Delangle was
completely at home with the element. The second (slow) movement (Modéré),
is a sentimental love song, with elements of popular music, most enjoyable and
melodious, and brought off with just the right amount of detachment by Delangle.
The last movement, Brazileiria, earthy and full of the joy of
samba, was played to the hilt by Delangle, the orchestral accompaniment just
lacking that last bit of familiarity with the syncopations. Overall, it was a
delightful performance of a work which should be more often played. Delangle
should be invited again, perhaps with the Glazunov concerto and the Debussy
clarinet rhapsodie some time.
Debussy’s La Mer completed the circle of the evening
started by Glazunov’s The Sea. The SSO is due to record this in due course (a CD
with a program built about the theme of the sea has been planned), but I’m
afraid to say that if this is the degree of preparation that has been achieved
so far, it is not at all ready to record it.
The blame for this lies squarely with the conductor, I’m sorry to say. I’ve
never heard a rendition of La Mer that came off as being more episodic than this
one. In the first movement, De l’aube à midi sur la mer, the half-lights and
mystery of the music was absent, with the climaxes sounding enervated and
undernourished. The wrong-headed tempo relations helped make it feel even more
disjointed. In some parts where a pent-up, latent power was to be expected, it
came off as rather limp. Overall it was less of rolling waves that one
envisioned but of something more like a storm in a teacup. (for something in a
totally opposite direction, a truly stormy sea, listen to Igor Markevitch’s
recording on EMI)
The second movement featured audaciously seductive sirens – one of the finer
touches of the evening. The part depicting the waves at play, with the violins
playing the descending motif, didn’t quite come through as successfully as it
could have – the dynamics could have been better emphasized here. Overall the
second movement felt rather rushed and in particular, orchestral balance could
have used a lot of work. Obligato woodwinds were frequently not able to
penetrate and make their full impact because the strings were too loud.
The third movement opened at a
sturdy pace, with a bright and attractive trumpet boldly announcing the theme.
In the part where the woodwinds had to sing and seduce, the sex was strangely
absent – it was too matter of fact and not adequately shaped. One highlight of
this movement was the section with flute obligato over violin harmonics. Again,
I found that the brass, especially as they intoned the chorale nearing the end,
was too loud, with none of the dynamic layering and sensitivity that I’ve come
to expect from the work. The coda itself was appropriately whipped up and
well-played, but the overpowering brass again spoilt any residual pleasure I
could have received.
Lan Shui is an ambitious conductor, and tonight’s programme was
well-constructed, yet I fear he isn’t doing enough to shape and grow with the
orchestra. I flipped through his biography again and learnt a shocking fact –
that he stays with the SSO only 16 weeks a year. It is not adequate that a
conductor program ambitious works with his orchestra like Mahler’s Eighth
symphony, and take it on tours if he does not at the same time build it and
improve it musically. The musicians who make up the orchestra have improved by
leaps and bounds since Lan Shui took over, but there are many times where one
feels his musicianship is not allied with a deeper understanding of the works he
plays. Having
been a fan of his earlier work with the SSO, I would like to express my
disappointment here.
Recommended recordings for La Mer:
Roger Desormiere with the Czech Philharmonic -- sheer Gallic elegance from a
wonderful orchestra and conductor intimately familiar with the French style.
Igor Markevitch with the Lamoureux orchestra -- a boiling, rolling, stormy
account. Very good.
Pierre Boulez with the Cleveland Orchestra -- super orchestra, refinement at its
best.
Did you know? Critical Information
When Otto Klemperer conducted La Mer, some critics
said "that's not La Mer, that's Das See!"
Learn about the saxophonist Claude Delangle:
http://www.sax-delangle.com
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