For this concert, Australian conductor Simone Young returned to the Philharmonic podium with a program of works in the late Romantic Austro-German tradition that showed her at her best. The evening opened with the orchestra’s first ever performance of Notturno, Schoenberg’s lush and sentimental four-minute piece for strings, harp and solo violin. Written when the composer was only 21, it foreshadows the lyricism and intense Romanticism of his earliest important work, Verklärte Nacht, composed four years later. With Concertmaster Frank Huang as the sweet-sounding soloist, the orchestra gave a calm and graceful reading.
Next Steven Isserlis came on stage for Schumann’s only Cello Concerto, a piece unperformed during the composer’s lifetime and not premiered until 1860, four years after his untimely death at the age of 46. Deeply brooding and introspective, it breaks with traditional concerto structure by having each of its three movements flow seamlessly into the next. Despite a wide emotional range, a unified sense of development prevails, as melodic and rhythmic themes introduced early on reappear and are dramatically developed throughout its relatively brief (26 minutes) duration. Isserlis dispatched a warmly passionate rendition, blending lithe agility with exceptional lyricism in the broader melodic passages, sensitively accompanied throughout by Young and the Philharmonic players.
A highlight was the cello duet in the central slow movement – some say it represents a conversation between Schumann and his wife Clara – splendidly played by Isserlis and Philharmonic Principal Carter Brey. Another high point was the accompanied cadenza, with the orchestra commenting on the phrases of the soloist, near the end of the lively finale. While some cellists choose to expand on the composer’s discrete, carefully constructed writing – sometimes substituting a solo, more elaborate creation of their own – Isserlis delivered the cadenza as written. There was a lovely encore in Song of the Birds, a traditional Catalan folk song made famous by Pablo Casals, in Sally Beamish’s alluring arrangement for solo cello.
After intermission came a beautifully balanced, subtly phrased account of Bruckner’s Sixth Symphony. Though more rarely performed than his other symphonic compositions, the score embodies some of his best writing. On this occasion, Young, who has a deserved reputation as one of Bruckner’s finest interpreters, shaped a highly coherent, wonderfully molded interpretation. Though there was nothing extreme about the tempi; she chose to quicken the pace of the opening movement – faster than the title Majestoso might suggest – but without sacrificing the grandness of the music. The ensuing Adagio was appropriately stately and tremendously moving, and the speed and rhythmic bite of the Scherzo made an agreeable contrast with the unmistakably Langsam Trio. The rather disjointed Finale unfolded as a compelling sequence of themes. Altogether, this was a superb performance, with tempi, dynamics and proportions all skillfully managed so that Bruckner’s abundance of melody and commanding rhythms were conveyed with gripping, powerful drama.
