Under different circumstances, this ordinary looking programme of standard fare might have produced indifferent results. But there was nothing ordinary about these riveting performances from the Philharmonia under the charismatic direction of the young Norwegian conductor Tabita Berglund. At present she is the Principal Guest Conductor of the Kristiansand Symfoniorkester and will be taking up similar positions next season in Detroit and Dresden. Without any histrionics, her expressive but disciplined manner on the podium consistently conveyed meaningful gestures to generate inspirational performances. Rarely have I heard such a responsive and alert-sounding orchestra, playing these works as if they were first performances. Without doubt, Berglund is someone to watch.
She set out her stall with the overture to Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, which she is about to conduct at Garsington, a performance bristling with energy, its joie de vivre marvellously apparent from the start. Superbly articulated phrasing and rhythmic attack (almost over-egged at times) vividly brought to life the opera’s social intrigues. The Philharmonia players could probably have played this overture in their sleep, but there was nothing somnambulant in this sharply etched account.
And there was no sense of anything soporific or overly elegiac in the ‘autumn bonfires’ of Elgar’s Cello Concerto, a work often regarded as a memorial for a lost generation, prompting some soloists to perform the concerto as if it were a Requiem. Not so here with cellist Nicolas Altstaedt whose forthright opening gesture gave way to a performance of considerable drama and intensity, the Philharmonia wonderfully characterful supporters. Rumination and grandeur were nicely integrated in the opening movement, where well defined climaxes hinted at the composer baring his teeth. With flawless intonation, Altstaedt’s generous tone outlined its poetic half-lights and dramatic oratory, later bringing whispered intimacies and puckish delight and commanding attention in the Adagio with an unbearable poignancy that took one’s breath away. The finale was a rollicking affair where impish woodwind and snarling brass emerged from the shadows with ear-catching cameos, the whole demonstrating an exhilarating partnership between Berglund’s flexible direction and Altstaedt’s outstanding artistry. Further evidence of this was heard in the Sarabande from Bach’s Fourth Cello Suite.
There followed an involving account of Sibelius’ Symphony no. 2 in D major, its tension-filled Allegretto characterised by warmth of phrasing and rigorous attention to detail. Double basses and cellos were scrupulously neat and tidy in their meanderings for the Andante, its steady tempo drawing attention to the composer’s original intentions for a tone poem on Don Juan where part of its surviving recycled music deals with the anti-hero confronting Death. Its gravitas unfolded on a Wagnerian scale and came over as strongly as did the expressive contributions from bassoon and horns. Excitement and pathos governed the third movement, notable for fleet-of-foot strings and Tom Blomfield’s poignant oboe. Berglund negotiated the transition into the Finale neatly, and thereafter perfectly judged its accumulating drama to create a magnificent life affirming traversal. There have been countless performances of this symphony by the Philharmonia over the years, but this emotionally charged account was one of the most vivid I’ve heard in a long time.