Classical review: Cleveland Orchestra 01, Usher Hall, Edinburgh

By KEN WALTON
Published on 23/08/2012 10:36

IF THE strings are the heart and soul of the symphony orchestra, then the Cleveland Orchestra is essentially in terrific shape.

Cleveland Orchestra 01

Usher Hall

Star rating: * * * *

That was evident enough in the first of two concerts being given this Festival by the American band under the direction of its musical director Franz Welser-Möst, and could hardly have been more critical in defining the essence of Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra, which opened last night’s programme.

It’s a work we rarely hear these days, lying undeservedly in the shadow of Bartok’s similarly-titled work. And it was the full-bodied attack of the strings in the gutsy opening bars, and their brilliantly delicate and muted virtuosity in the second movement, that were the icing on the cake. Welser-Möst galvanised the resources before him, the Cleveland’s burnished brass and chattering woodwind every bit as effective in flavouring the smatterings of folk melodies with all the tartness required to bring Lutoslawski’s glistening masterpiece to life.

Colour was every bit as essential in characterising the first four of Smetana’s six tone poems from Ma Vlast. To hear them in this collective fashion was to appreciate overriding thematic links – the Vyšehrad theme that pops up again in Vltava.

The strings created the warmth that was vital in conjuring up Smetana’s rich natural imagery and the operatic welter of Sárka. Not all the wind section quite matched that.