Howell, Lamia; R. Strauss, Four Last Songs; R. Strauss, Serenade; Mozart Symphony No.41, ‘Jupiter’: Halle Orchestra – Christian Reif, conductor; Natalya Romaniw, soprano
This was interesting programming – both the Strauss Serenade and the Howell piece were written when their composers were precociously young – 17 and 20 respectively – and of course Mozart was a child prodigy; the 4 Last Songs are completely at the end, and Mozart’s last symphony, nearly at the end of each composer’s prodigious output; the Howell piece sounded very Straussian; and, of course, R.Strauss revered Mozart and the period he represented all his life.
Sadly the Howell piece – though remarkably confident in its orchestration and taking its cue from Debussy and R.Strauss – was not really that interesting. The Halle produced some gorgeous sounds but the piece isn’t really that attractive melodically, and, though following a clear story-line, didn’t really engage (at least) me as a listener. It would be nice to declare it a neglected masterpiece, but it isn’t, unfortunately. The other youthful piece, the Strauss Serenade, is a much more interesting and effective piece – it’s for wind instruments, and is clearly built on a Mozartian model, with some very enjoyable melodies. It was extremely well played by members of the Halle wind section.
The highlight of the evening was Natalya Romaniw singing the Four Last Songs. I thought this was world-class singing and it’s surprising (unless it’s her own choice) that she has done so little work outside the UK (Houston and France, looking at her website). I wondered at first in the early part of the first song, ‘Spring’, whether she would be able to offer enough variation and light and shade. In the other three songs she delivered that in spades – some wonderfully soft and sensitive singing, some thrilling full-blast notes, scrupulous attention to the text and altogether an overwhelmingly radiant voice. I was very moved by this performance. The Halle played very well and there was some outstanding horn playing. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a finer performance live of the last song. ‘Im Abendrot’.
The Mozart was more problematic. OK, I know the heading of the 1st movement of the Jupiter is ‘allegro vivace’, but In Christian Reif’s account it was more like ‘allegro maniacale.! The first movement was ridiculously fast, apart from an odd quirk at the beginning whereby the opening chords had an overlong pause before the soft string reply began (the Halle seeming to be caught out the first time it happened, with a ragged entry). To be fair, by contrast, I thought the finale was well-managed – a steady speed, and a very effective handling of dynamics, as well as bringing clarity of the inner parts in the orchestra (it DOES all sound much better when slower!). The inner movements were also quite well done. Also, Reif did the outer movement repeats – always a plus point! Mr Reif is a young German conductor who is currently working with the San Francisco orchestra. His work on Lamia and the 4 Last Songs shows he’s clearly talented
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