United Kingdom Ogonek, Britten, Shostakovich: Benjamin Grosvenor (piano), BBC Symphony Orchestra / Elim Chan (conductor). Barbican Hall, London, 28.2.2025. (KMcD)
Elizabeth Ogonek – Moondog (UK premiere)
Britten – Piano Concerto
Shostakovich – Symphony No.10
The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) concert at the Barbican Hall, under the assured direction of Elim Chan, presented a programme of fascinating contrasts: Elizabeth Ogonek’s Moondog, an evocative and shimmering soundscape; Britten’s Piano Concerto, a dazzling display of bravura and wit; followed by the unrelenting psychological intensity of Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony. It was an evening that highlighted the BBC SO’s formidable dynamic range and Chan’s instinctive ability to elicit sharp-edged detail and drama from each of the three scores.
The concert opened with Ogonek’s Moondog, a brief yet strikingly atmospheric work whose ethereal textures and delicate interplay between orchestral sections created an intriguing soundworld. Chan expertly brought out its luminous qualities, and the BBC SO responded with playing of great sensitivity, allowing Ogonek’s intricate score to shimmer and breathe.
Next came Britten’s Piano Concerto, a work of restless energy and razor-sharp wit. Written in 1938, it is Britten at his most flamboyant, bristling with bravura and rhythmic bite. It demands a soloist with dexterity, imagination, and a touch of theatricality – and Benjamin Grosvenor delivered all this in spades. From the first bars of the Toccata, he threw himself into the music with a mixture of technical brilliance and sheer verve, his phrasing taut but nuanced. The Waltz was a masterclass in balance – arch and playful but never descending into parody, the sly inflections giving Britten’s acerbic wit just the right amount of knowing charm. In the Impromptu, often described as the concerto’s beating heart, Grosvenor took a more introspective approach, shaping the lyrical lines with deeply personal tenderness. Then came the final March, which was dispatched with dazzling precision – each passage bristling with vitality, the interplay with the orchestra fizzing with energy. Chan and the BBC SO responded in kind, digging into Britten’s textures with bite and precision, ensuring that the full breadth of the composer’s vivid orchestration was on display. Grosvenor’s encore – a propulsive, rhythmically charged account of the Precipitato from Prokofiev’s Seventh Sonata – reinforced his reputation as a pianist of fearless virtuosity.
After the interval came a stark shift in mood with Shostakovich’s Symphony No.10. A work of staggering psychological weight, it remains one of the composer’s most gripping symphonic statements, its long, brooding first movement giving way to moments of unrelenting terror, sardonic mockery, and eventual triumph. Chan, who has rapidly established herself as a formidable presence on the podium, approached the work with a clear eye for orchestral textures and an unerring sense of pacing. The control in the opening Moderato was spellbinding, its dark musical landscape unfurling with an inexorable sense of unease. The BBC SO strings played with remarkable cohesion, their sound at turns desolate and richly expressive. When the Allegro erupted, it did so with terrifying force – snarling brass, relentless percussion, and the entire orchestra hurtling forward with unstoppable momentum. It was white-hot in its intensity.
The third movement, where Shostakovich’s personal musical signature (D-S-C-H) is woven into the fabric of the music, was projected with searing clarity. The BBC SO blared out the motif in the finale with a defiant sense of triumph, the symphony’s closing pages ringing with unshakable conviction. This was a performance of a composer celebrating survival, even if the celebration remained laced with irony. Chan steered the work with thrilling momentum, driving home its moments of biting sarcasm and volcanic power.
Throughout the evening, Chan’s ability to shape phrases with precision and bring out the inner voices of the orchestra resulted in performances of remarkable clarity and depth. The BBC SO responded with playing of great commitment, whether in the brittle brilliance of Britten or the harrowing landscapes of Shostakovich.
It was, in the end, a concert of two towering performances. If Britten’s Piano Concerto sparkled with wit and invention, then Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony plumbed the depths of human resilience. Together, they created an evening of thrilling contrasts, expertly navigated by Chan and the BBC SO.
Keith McDonnell