Classical review: SCO

Published on Friday 9 October 2009 21:17

SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA **** USHER HALL

LOUIS Langre is one of today's most interesting Mozart conductors, and here was the evidence. In the SCO's opening concert of its new season, the French-born director of New York's Mainly Mozart Festival drew from the players performances of remarkable precision and zeal.

At least, he did so in a first half that saw Mozart's overture to The Magic Flute coupled with Schubert's Unfinished Symphony. In both, Langre combined refreshing clarity with stylistic elegance.

And there was a refreshing lack of sentiment: the sort that either rids this Mozart overture of its sizzling energy, or – as in the opening chords, played here with heraldic brevity – bloats the music to excess. Langre set it out with exuberance, and the only disappointment was that the rest of the opera wasn't about to follow.

Instead, we had the Schubert, again delivered with rich attention to detail. If Schubert left this undone because he felt its two movements formed a complete piece, Langre proved it. For this was a performance encompassing the lyrical and dramatic, the torment and the tranquillity, but once again within the confines of style and period. It sounded like a fulfilling entity.

From the orchestral standpoint, Mozart's frustratingly unfinished Mass in C minor was yet another of the evening's jewels. And with a vocal quartet of Lisa Milne, Gillian Keith, Joshua Elliocot and Brindley Sherratt, there was much to enjoy.

The one weakness lay in the SCO Chorus, which seemed unusually underpowered.