United Kingdom Grieg, Nielsen, Tchaikovsky, ‘Fairytales & Fantasy’: Elizaveta Ivanova (flute), BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Jaime Martín (conductor). Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, 11.12.2025. (LJ)
Grieg – Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46 (1875)
Nielsen – Flute Concerto (1926)
Tchaikovsky – selections from Swan Lake (1875-6)
A couple of days ago, when I started to think about the pieces and performers of this concert, I had BBC Radio 3’s lunchtime recital playing from the small radio in my kitchen. I quickly became intrigued by the expressivity coming from the flautist. At the end of the recital, I was delighted to hear broadcaster Hannah French announce to her listeners that the musicians were Elizaveta Ivanova (flute) and Sanja Bizjak (piano). They performed an excellent programme that included arrangements for flute from works by Schubert, Dvořák, and Robert Schumann.
So, when I took my seat at Cardiff’s Hoddinott Hall to hear Ivanova perform Carl Nielsen’s Flute Concerto, I was filled with high hopes. Current Radio 3 New Generation Artist, Ivanova performed with confidence. For this concert, she was accompanied by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW), led by Lesley Hatfield and conducted by Jaime Martín.
The billing for the concert promised a musical fairytale that deals in ‘humour and heartbreak’. Appropriately, alongside Nielsen’s Flute Concerto, we heard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46, and Martín’s own selections from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, which included the ‘Danse Espagnole’ – a fitting nod to his Spanish heritage. In fact, whilst the music was distinctly Northern in its rootedness in the folk traditions of Norway, Denmark, and Russia, if this were a Eurovision contest, my ‘douze points’ would go to Spain. Though Ivanova was our soloist, the stand-out musical voice was Martín’s. As Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC NOW, I hope to hear more from this collaboration.
Martín allowed each section of the orchestra and each instrumentalist the freedom to convey their own musical impression whilst remaining in control of the orchestra as a whole. His conducting was sensitive to dynamics – a seemingly simple yet crucial element to keep in mind when leading such grand and contrasting music as Peer Gynt and Swan Lake. Under his baton, the BBC NOW sounded invigorated and charged with Martín’s infectious energy. This vitality could be heard even when they played pieces that the musicians would have known all too well.
The concert began with music by Norway’s most famous composer: Edvard Grieg. Like Nielsen, Grieg spent time in Copenhagen where he strengthened his connection with his Scandinavian roots and developed a passion for folk music that would be highly influential in his subsequent compositions. Yet, in Grieg’s case, all roads really did lead to Rome as it was there he met his compatriot, Henrik Ibsen, for whose drama he composed the incidental music we heard performed.
Grieg was not a composer of large symphonic works (with the exception of his Piano Concerto in A minor), he prioritised ideas over lengthy extension and, by nature, was a miniaturist. His fondness for folk rhythms and melodies can be heard most clearly in his songs, but this folk-sensibility is also apparent in Peer Gynt, which contains the one song that Grieg borrowed directly from the folk tradition: Solveig’s Song. Unfortunately, we did not hear this song as it belongs to Suite No.2. I am not sure why the orchestra did not play both suites as, in this suite-format, they do not take exceptionally long to play through (approximately 35 minutes). Perhaps this was due to time constraints because the concert was being live streamed by the BBC.
The suite that was played consists of the following movements: Morning Mood in E major, The Death of Åse in B minor, Anitra’s Dance in A minor, and In the Hall of the Mountain King in B minor. Of these instantly recognisable movements, the opening melody of Morning Mood was performed with strength and sensitivity by Matthew Featherstone on flute. As a flautist himself, Martín was able to carve space for Featherstone to give this melody a singing quality. At times, there was a tendency towards the sentimental, but this was reined in during Anitra’s Dance with the pizzicato string section and triangle offering moments of humour.
Tchaikovsky completed his ballet, Swan Lake, just one year after Grieg composed Peer Gynt. Folk narratives form the core of this work too, though Tchaikovsky’s folk tradition has Russian and German roots. With a composer and piece synonymous with Christmas concerts at this time of year, this was Martín and the BBC NOW’s opportunity to express their interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s ‘festival of orchestration’, as Martín put it.
As I have already hinted at above, the most memorable part of this suite from Swan Lake was the ‘Danse Espagnole’. Martín began conducting this movement by vertically extending his left arm and twisting his hand, striking the pose of a flamenco dancer. What followed was a movement full of character, colour, and charm. Special mention must also be made for the swans’ tragic leitmotif evoked in the plaintive oboe melody (played by Steve Hudson) and for Eluned Pierce, who performed the harp cadenza beautifully. The excellent sound quality of the Hoddinott Hall meant that Pierce could be heard perfectly.
Nielsen composed his Flute Concerto in 1926, relatively late in his life. Like much of this Danish composer’s oeuvre it combines a directness of expression with the warmth and spontaneity of the natural world, which, according to his autobiography, he associated with his youth as the son of a farmer. The association of the flute with the natural world is not, however, a twentieth-century concept. The flute, or syrinx, was the instrument of the shepherds, linked to the god Pan as depicted by the Ancient Greek poet, Homer.
Nielsen spoke directly of the flute saying that it ‘cannot deny its own nature, its home is in Arcadia and it prefers pastoral moods. Hence, the composer has to obey its gentle nature, unless he wants to be branded a barbarian’. In his reference to Arcadia, the mythological Greek place symbolising harmony with nature and a pastoral ideal, Nielsen alludes to the elemental qualities of this instrument. Yet, when listening to the composer’s concerto for this instrument, it would be misleading to describe it as purely and simply pastoral as the piece consists of complexities that evoke the challenges posed by, for example, the expansion of urban spaces during the early twentieth century, when the piece was composed. Musically, this was clearly evoked by Mark Frost on bass trombone.
The piece only has two movements. The first is symphonic and the second more dramatic. Nielsen puts the flute in direct dialogue with individual instruments throughout. During this performance, Ivanova enjoyed spirited exchanges not only with the bass trombone, but also with the clarinet, timpani, and viola. Ivanova certainly appeared at one with the piece and with her instrument, yet she could have made more of these exchanges with the BBC NOW’s musicians. Hopefully, she will have further opportunities to play with this orchestra and develop a stronger rapport.
Again, Martín’s involvement helped to fold Ivanova into the creases of the BBC NOW as she did have a tendency to perch at a slight remove from the orchestra. Martín’s flautist background allows him intimate insight into this piece, and he used this familiarity to meet the needs of both Ivanova as instrumentalist and of the orchestra, which at times supported the soloist, but at other times entered into conversation with the flute.
This was an enjoyable yet slightly frustrating concert with moments of enjoyment cut short due to pieces being played in part, rather than in full. This may simply reflect a personal preference, but I would rather fewer pieces played in their entirety. A selection of movements always leaves me thinking more about the movements that were not played than those that were (‘Solveig’s Song’ still comes to mind). Is this because such curation risks losing more than it seeks to gain? Music, after all, is conversation. It is a conversation that stretches between composer, conductor, instrumentalists, and audience. If we as audience members can only eavesdrop on part of that rich, overlapping, agreeable, and indeed disagreeable conversation, we may miss the bigger picture altogether. Martín hinted at this concern when introducing his selection from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, but it also applies to hearing only the first suite from Grieg’s Peer Gynt.
Yet, judged by the hearty applause, the audience clearly enjoyed the ‘humour and heartbreak’ of the evening’s musical journey. This marks the last concert I will attend in Wales in 2025, but the BBC NOW will play out the year with some Christmas concerts in Cardiff and Swansea before returning in 2026 with concerts conducted by their Principal Conductor Ryan Bancroft. There is a lot to look forward to with this orchestra and much to congratulate them on for a very good year of music making.
Lucy Jeffery