United Kingdom Brahms, Beethoven, Haydn: Yeol Eum Son (piano), Anna Dennis (soprano), Katie Bray (mezzo-soprano), Anthony Gregory (tenor), Neal Davies (bass), Scottish Chamber Chorus and Orchestra / Maxim Emelyanychev (conductor), Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 8.5.2025. (SRT)
Brahms – Variations on a Theme by Haydn
Beethoven – Piano Concerto No.3
Haydn – Nelson Mass
Orchestral seasons are drawing to an end, and teams are aligning to conclude the year on a high. In fact, this concert saw the whole Scottish Chamber Orchestra family in the Usher Hall for Haydn’s Nelson Mass: the chorus was in the choir stalls, the orchestra on the stage and Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev was on the podium, guaranteeing a performance of drama and excitement.
In the Haydn, as indeed throughout the evening, the drama emanated first and foremost from the orchestra. The opening Kyrie thrust forward with urgency and bite, helped by period timps and brass, especially those staccato trumpets whose threatening fanfares were never far away. Emelyanychev drove things forward with purpose and focus, despite some oddly elongated pauses between the movements, and the dramatic climax was a faster-than-expected Benedictus, crowned by the hair-raising blare of those trumpets at full throttle.
Next to them the chorus sounded rather soft-focused, with edges blurred and the overall bloom more prominent. This turned into a positive asset in the gorgeous Et incarnatus est movement, even if some of the big moments elsewhere in the Gloria lacked bite. No complaints about the marvellous quartet of soloists, though, crowned by the magnificent soprano of Anna Dennis, a glorious voice that manages the seemingly impossible feat of sounding both silvery and luxuriously syrupy at the same time.
The orchestra drove the drama in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.3, too, the opening tutti lithe and exciting, like an animal ready to pounce, poised strings balanced by lyrical winds and majestic brass. Soloist Yeol Eum Son approached the piano line like a poet rather than a gladiator, bringing lyrical smoothness to the part in a way that smoothed over some of the edges rather than leaving them raw. That was true even in her cadenza, which had a welcome lack of ego, and taking such a mellifluous approach to the concerto is a perfectly valid way of doing it, even if it does dial down the drama. The effect in the central Largo was blissful, however, and the final Rondo was admirably well balanced, mischievous rather than explosive.
Mellifluousness and drama seemed to go hand-in-hand in the opening performance of Brahms’s Haydn Variations, which moved forward with gently persuasive purposefulness. There was a lovely sweep to the violins, playing with only minimal vibrato, and natural horns added a nicely salty tang to the sound. Each variation had its own distinctive character, and the final Passacaglia had terrific swell, marking a satisfying culmination.
The Glasgow performance on 9th May will be recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 2nd June.
Simon Thompson
Featured Image: Soprano Anna Dennis