Classical review: Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Published on Friday 16 October 2009 22:15

SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA ***** QUEEN'S HALL, EDINBURGH

THERE are few symphonic themes more instantly recognisable than that of Beethoven's Fifth, but for all its familiarity, this iconic symphony still has the power to thrill and excite. With the potent combination of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and emeritus conductor Joseph Swensen, this was always going to be a blistering performance, but the illumination of some of the finer details gave it an edgy, fresh quality.

Beethoven's insistent rapping motif pervades this work from start to finish, lurking beneath the surface even in the lyrical variations of the andante and interrupting the mysterious passages of the scherzo. By the final allegro, Swensen and the orchestra were practically airborne and looked as if they were having the ride of their lives.

There was a similar energy driving Henning Kraggerud's gripping performance of Sibelius' Violin Concerto. His clear, lucid tone was matched by a strong sense of the poetic nuances that underpin the technical virtuosity in this rather uneven work. The pacing of the lengthy first movement was spot on while the sumptuously scored adagio provided the concerto highlight. Described by Donald Tovey as a "polonaise for polar bears", the third movement is a bizarre mismatch of an orchestral calvary lost in a spaghetti western while the perplexed soloist doggedly works his way through relentless scale passages.