United Kingdom Vaughan Williams, Ireland and Elgar: Mark Bebbington (piano), Duncan Riddell (violin), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Barry Wordsworth (conductor), Cadogan Hall, London, 1.11.2017. (AS)
Vaughan Williams – The Wasps – Overture; The Lark Ascending
Ireland – Piano Concerto in E flat
Elgar – Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36, Enigma
Here was a programme of the most popular English classics, with the exception of the Ireland concerto, which however seems to be coming back into favour a little more after a period of some neglect. It is a work that needs a good deal of sensitivity and insight on the part of the soloist, for it doesn’t reveal its secrets easily. Mark Bebbington has done much good work on Ireland’s behalf, both in the recording studio and in live performance, and he has a sure grasp of the composer’s style. As the possessor of a fine technique, he is also more than equal to the specific pianistic challenges that the concerto poses. Yet the work also has a certain characteristic wistfulness, an air of gentle melancholy and a special kind of fragile beauty that some artists have been able to find underneath the notes themselves. These qualities were only partly realised by Bebbington. His was quite a direct approach, and there was much to admire in his playing, but we didn’t quite get the whole story. Everything was well judged from a basic interpretative viewpoint, except perhaps for the opening tempo of the finale. This was of course initially set by Barry Wordsworth, but must have been decided upon by soloist and conductor together in rehearsal. Ireland was very particular about this tempo, and made it clear to the first performers of the piece that it should not be too fast. On this occasion it was a little quicker than the jog-trot pace that suits the nature of the music best. As an encore Bebbington played Ireland’s solo piece, ‘The Island Spell’, the first of his three Decorations.
The concert had begun with an exhilarating account of the Overture from Vaughan Williams’s ‘Aristophanic Suite’, The Wasps. Under Wordsworth’s encouraging, clear-cut beat the RPO played with great spirit and character. Less successful was Duncan Riddell’s account of the same composer’s The Lark Ascending after the interval. Here the solo playing was accurate and workmanlike, but only that, and devoid of any real spirituality or beauty of phrase.
Fortunately, Wordsworth then restored the music-making to a high level with a warmhearted, beautifully shaped and balanced account of Elgar’s Enigma Variations. Despite it being a very conventional performance in which the presentation of all the variations conformed to a traditional norm, it still possessed great vitality and freshness, and there was some splendidly expressive playing from the RPO. Barry Wordsworth was by some distance the hero of the evening.
Alan Sanders
For more about the RPO click here.
Being a former professional musician and avid concert goer in my retirement, I have long regarded with interest and often amusement just how differently reviewers react to the same performance. Having witnessed this concert, I wholeheartedly agree with those reviewers on Classical Source and Bachtrack but am puzzled at how wildly opposite this review reacted to some of the performance. Of course we, the readers must never forget that these reviews are always at best personal opinions and at worst………
The tone of the negative comments here and how diametrically opposite they are to other reviewers lack dignity and seem to suggest this is more than unbiased personal opinion. A reminder to us all that in the world of unregulated amateur critics, everything should be taken with a pinch of salt!
‘Unregulated amateur critics’ is an insult to the expertise of S&H reviewers which in a number of cases – and certainly with this reviewer – exceeds the expertise of some of those you would consider ‘regulated professional critics’ whoever they are. That you agree with others who were there does not in any way make you all correct and our review wrong. Appreciation of classical music is subjective and that is what makes it endlessly fascinating. In many spheres of music criticism there appears IMHO to be what amounts to a critics’ cabal. I urge you and others to continue to support S&H in the way you increasingly are because we do provide ‘unbiased personal opinion’ and for me that is a good thing.