Classical review: SCO: Beethoven’s Choral Symphony, Usher Hall, Edinburgh

FROM the concert’s opening note, a gruff, throaty bark expelled by the double basses to kick off the overture to Beethoven’s seldom-heard Ruins of Athens, it was clear that Finnish conductor John Storgårds’ performance would be vivid and alive with detail.

He managed to balance his laser-focused precision with a sure sense of the music’s grand architecture. The enlarged SCO responded with powerful yet transparent playing, full of surging crescendos and restless energy. Written in 1811 while the composer was convalescing from illness, The Ruins of Athens might not be one of Beethoven’s greatest works, but Storgårds provided the firm hand needed to steer its often surprising music – including an infernally catchy Turkish March – through sometimes unpredictable byways.

Turkish drums and cymbals made a telling reappearance in the final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the real reason for the evening’s large and enthusiastic audience. Its drama must have been familiar to many of us, but Storgårds appeared intent on avoiding cheap theatricality, so at times things seemed a little driven, especially in the rather sober scherzo. Yet what his reading lacked in fireworks it more than made up for in raw power and dogged determination. The well-drilled SCO chorus was on fine form throughout, and with vibrant contributions from his four vocal soloists, Storgårds propelled the finale through to an electrifying conclusion.

Rating: ****