BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Anja Bihlmaier conductor’ Jennifer Johnston – Judith; Christopher Purves -Bluebeard. Boulanger D’un soir triste; Kodály Dances of Galánta; Bartók Bluebeard’s Castle
This was a very enjoyable concert, and well programmed too. The Boulanger piece seemed to have thematic and harmonic links with the Bartok piece at times, and shared a similarly gloomy outlook. And obviously Kodaly and Bartok have that immediately recognisable Hungarian sound world in common.
The Boulanger piece was obviously of its time and the influence of Debussy and Faure are clearly present. But there’s enough that’s distinctive to make one wonder what sort of composer Lili Boulanger might have become, had she not died so young (24). It’s a sombre piece, clearly structured and immediate. I liked it.
The Kodaly piece is often used as an orchestral show – off work, and what I liked about this performance is that, though it was very well played – some spectacularly fast woodwind playing as things pick up speed, and some gorgeous string sound, as well as some very characterful clarinet playing – it was all at the service of the music. Anja Bihlmaier wasn’t just driving the music forward relentlessly, but loosening it up at points, so that both she and the orchestra looked as though they were enjoying themselves throughout. That said, the very ending, after the slow down, seemed a bit underpowered, as though the sudden reversion to the quicker tempo was too fast for the players to catch on to. Throughout, Ms Bihlmaier seemed utterly focused on the orchestra, with no element of self-conscious playing to the audience. Though fairly new to major international engagements, she’s in her late 40s and a very experienced conductor, trained in German provincial opera houses. She is currently chief guest conductor of the BBC Phil. – I hope she stays for longer than her initially contracted 3 years. She’s now beginning to be courted by the Premier League orchestras (she had her LSO debut recently)
The Bartok Duke Bluebeard performance was very absorbing (and indeed was heard by one of the most silent and non-coughing audiences I can remember at the Bridgewater Hall) – I have to say I enjoyed it more than the Budapest orchestra’s performance in the summer. One of the main reasons for this I think was that it was sung in English. While I know that the melodic lines are rooted in Hungarian speech, hearing it in English makes it so much more immediate, and it also felt as though the translation was not distorting the musical phrasing in any way.. The second reason for my enjoyment was the performance of Christopher Purves, a late stand-in, who gave a master class in how to make every word, every note count, with superb diction and a riveting stage presence. He didn’t act in any physical sense in front of a music stand, but everything we needed to know about the character -paranoia, love, resignation – was in his singing. His verses about his previous wives at the end -which rather passed me by on the summer Proms performance – were gloriously and affectingly delivered. He occasionally used sprechstimme to great effect. Jennifer Johnston wasn’t in the same league of singing and presence as Purves, she wasn’t as believable, but she sang powerfully, with careful shading of phrases, and a glorious top-whatever at the 5th door. The telling of the story was enhanced by some well-judged lighting effects (done without disturbing the orchestra). Door no 5 was further enhanced not just by the Bridgewater Hall organ at full tilt but also by 8 extra brass players in the choir stall. They made a wonderful noise. Ms Bihlmaier’s conducting was fluent and straightforward, again focusing on letting the music speak, or rather sing, for itself, rather than emphasising particular aspects for effect. All her tempi sounded ‘right’ in context. I saw one review which grumbled a bit about the orchestra being over-loud at points. From where I was sitting – Row M in the Stalls – if anything the orchestra was almost too subservient to the singers, but certainly Anja Bihlmaier had them well under control (perhaps in fact Door 5 might have been louder. I shall listen to this again on Radio 3 whenever it is broadcast.
John's musical journey 