The BBC Philharmonic’s Saturday evening concert at the Bridgewater Hall began and ended with two of the most colourful and exuberant pieces in the repertoire. In between came two very different works which gave the audience the all-too rare opportunity to hear the trumpet as solo instrument.
First came Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel. The composer transformed the legendary escapades of the prankster Till into one of his best-loved tone-poems. The horn theme representing Till himself near the beginning was the first of many exemplary solos from players in the large orchestra. Individuals and groups of players brought this varied score to life. It is hard to know exactly what episode is being recounted without a detailed knowledge of the score and the scenario, but Strauss’ music transcends the story. Chief Conductor John Storgårds ensured that the contrasting episodes came together to make a coherent whole and moved the focus from one instrument or section to another as required.
Renowned Swedish trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger then joined a smaller BBC Philharmonic for Haydn’s much-loved Trumpet Concerto in E flat major. This was written for what was in 1796 the latest in musical technology: the keyed trumpet, which allowed the performer to play a much greater range of notes than the earlier “natural” instrument. Haydn showed off the capabilities of that instrument: Hardenberger demonstrated the warm, expressive, lyrical side of the modern valved trumpet and delighted us with his own cadenza in the first movement. Storgårds and the orchestra gave poised, stylish support to the soloist but this was Hardenberger’s piece.
Betsy Jolas is now 98 years old and still composing. Her Onze Lieder date from 1977. Jolas never fully embraced the prevailing aesthetics of the time and there are vestiges of older, traditional music in her work. Nevertheless, the Onze Lieder are a challenging listen. The songs of the title are songs without words and the singer is the trumpet. The rapport Hardenberger had established with the audience in the Haydn proved a way into this difficult work. He often had to use the extreme registers of his instrument and frequently conjured up unexpected sounds by deploying a variety of mutes. His combination with the orchestral trumpet produced some atmospheric music. Above all the sparkling, glittering sounds of the tuned and untuned percussion tickled the ear. All in all, an interesting work and an unusual showpiece for Hardenberger.
The audience, expecting the interval, was surprised to see more string players returning to the stage. By way of encore, Hardenberger and a string orchestra played Roland Pöntinen’s arrangement of Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now.
The second half of the concert consisted of Petrushka, given in the original 1911 version rather than the revised and reduced version that Stravinsky made in 1947. The earlier version requires a gloriously extravagant orchestra which makes Till Eulenspiegel look moderate. Here Storgårds and the Philharmonic evoked the world of a fair in pre-revolutionary St Petersburg. As in the Strauss, the orchestra created a brilliant, kaleidoscopically colourful scene, but the rhythms and melodies had a definite Russian accent. Everything was kept together and controlled by Storgårds as a much more benevolent puppetmaster than the sinister one introduced by menacing drum-rolls in the ballet.
