Berlioz, Harold en Italie; Kodály, Dances of Galánta; Tchaikovsky, Francesca da Rimini. Halle Orchestra: Lionel Bringuier, conductor; Timothy Ridout, viola
There are a number of connections here possibly in terms of this programme – all have wild elements to their close, two are relatively early works, and the Kodaly and the Tchaikovsky are great orchestral display pieces. In my own case, I have never heard the Berlioz or Tchaikovsky live – I heard the Kodaly once about 10 years ago at the Proms with Vladimir Jurowski.
The outstanding performance for me was the Tchaikovsky. The Halle sounds quite transfigured when playing the great late Romantic repertory, and their playing was glorious in this piece – a rich string sound, sonorous brass with just a hint of Russian harshness in the brass (I even thought I detected a whiny horn), supple woodwind, and the whirlwind of hell sounding very convincing indeed, with the percussion section, particularly the gong, adding a huge noise at the end. I though Brinquier judged the tempi and balance just right – maybe the brass at the climax was just a little too reserved and un-Russian, but that is a minor criticism
The other two pieces didn’t seem quite on the same level – I thought some of the speeds in the Kodaly were too fast, and the Hale sounded a bit cautious in response – sometimes the rhythms didn’t seem quite right or as well-pointed as they should have done, and also the transitions seemed a bit jerky sometimes from one dance to another.
The Berlioz is a work I have always had problems with listening to it on record or on the radio, and listening to it live didn’t seem to make it any easier to follow. There are some imaginative and memorable leading themes but how they get worked on and resolved in a symphonic sense remains a bit of a mystery to me, and I find myself losing attention – not helped in this performance by the fact that the excellent Matthew Ridou had to stop in the middle of the first movement to adjust a string. But I’ve just replayed parts of the LSO/Colin Davis recording and felt the same lack of engagement. So I’ve done my duty by this piece and won’t be seeking it out again……
John's musical journey 