Classical review: Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Published on Sunday 15 November 2009 21:48

CITY HALLS, GLASGOW ****

THE SCO took one of its mischievous ventures into the bigger symphonic repertoire on Friday. The fascination, when it does that, is to experience such glorious edifices as Beethoven's Violin Concerto or Brahms's First Symphony from a chamber perspective.

It's not so much about numbers (the SCO swells its ranks with extras on these occasions) as attitude and approach. And every one of Friday's performances boasted clarity, incisiveness, and a sense that every note mattered.

They certainly mattered to conductor Olari Elts, whose balletic dynamism on the podium inspired alacrity and alertness from the players. The opening bars of Beethoven's Fidelio overture were riveting theatre, delivered with punchy edge-of-the-seat authority.

The Beethoven concerto introduced us to the 24-year-old Armenian violinist Sergey Khachatryan, clearly a young man to watch out for. There was something very cool and collected about his delivery which allowed this epic work to unfold intelligently and, in the slow movement, quite beautifully. But it was an approach that resulted in a general slowness of pace, and an ending that lacked panache.

Elts's vision of the Brahms – note the subliminal link to the Beethoven in the prominent beating timpani of both openings – was altogether more riveting. He unleashed aspects of detail in the texture that so often get lost in traditional symphony orchestra performances. It's not the first time the SCO has proved Brahms to be much more fleet-footed than we give him credit for. Don't let it be the last.