Classical review: RSNO / Thomas Søndergård

Published on Sunday 15 November 2009 21:48

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL ****

ARGENTINE pianist Ingrid Fliter has what could only be described as the magic touch. The stream of intricate fingerwork that characterises Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 1 was not only precise in her hands, it wasalso meaningful.

Paying attention to the articulation of each note, the virtuosic phrases of Fliter's opening Allegro were as emotionally charged as the gentle Largo that followed it. And although it was her unanticipated accents and playful embellishments that made the performance what it was, she took care to maintain a sharp focus on its lyrical core. The result was an interpretation that married a clean and precise technique with sensitivity and warmth of character.

Shostakovich's symphonic writing calls for a similar approach from orchestral musicians, no more so than in his Symphony No 11 in G minor – The Year 1905. He makes plenty of robust technical demands here, yet some significant investment in the emotional life of the work must also be obvious if the music is to achieve its full potential.

The RSNO seemed to struggle with this in the opening movement. A sparse texture and quiet dynamic were not enough to conjure up the ominous scene. A lack of focus in the string sound often bled into the other sections and it was not until the second movement, with the addition of the percussion section playing at full pelt, that this feeling of indifference was shaken off.

From then on, spurred on by animated pleas from conductor Thomas Sndergrd, the players finally seemed happy to shoulder the full weight of Shostakovich's complex work.