Classical review: Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Published on Sunday 13 December 2009 21:52

CITY HALLS, GLASGOW ****

WHILE not wishing to play down the impressive debut appearance of 26-year-old Robin Ticciati as the SCO's new principal conductor, the unquestionable sensation of the evening was Czech-born mezzo soprano Magdalena Kozena's all-engaging, opulent and earthy performance of Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn.

Every aspect of the music was explored in a delivery heightened by evocative bodily gestures and genuine eye contact – operatic, yet never to excess. As a result, the delicacies of Mahler's score, from the magically understated fanfares of Die Schnen Trompeten to the eccentric animation of Lob des hohen Verstands, struck that magical middle ground between visionary rapture and dreamy intimacy.

Behind the aura of Kozena's captivating performance – who was visually stunning, too, in a glamorous golden ensemble – Ticciati elicited finely-etched support from his new orchestra.

The whole programme had a fascinating directional flow, from the crystalline 1940s' translucence of Henze's Symphony No 1 – ghosts of utilitarian Hindemith mutated into lyrical gems by Henze's pen – to the full-throated Romantic outpourings of Brahms's Symphony No 2, by way of Mahler's heady high-concentrate.

Ticciati grasped the narrative potential of this stylistic backward journey with cool authority, matching the textural definition of the Henze (bar the odd edgy moment from the upper strings) with the rich expansiveness of the Brahms.

I'm not convinced he realised the full potential of performing the Brahms with a chamber orchestra, but he found ample breathing space in an interpretation that had equal measures of grace and gusto.