Principal Guest Conductor Gianandrea Noseda’s cycle of Prokofiev symphonies with the LSO has arrived at the Seventh, and alongside Beethoven, last night's contrasting programme also had Sally Beamish’s evocative Distans at its heart. But they began with a spirited performance of Beethoven’s Leonore Overture no. 3, the most substantial of his four attempts at an overture for Fidelio. After a warm opening, Noseda set things off at a gently jogging pace, before driving on with energy, handling smoothly the frequent shifts back into slower tempi. Lively woodwind and precise skittering strings demonstrated the LSO’s expert ensemble, all leading toward an ultimately joyous if not earthshattering conclusion.
Beamish’s Distans was written in 2020 for violinist Janine Jansen and clarinettist Martin Fröst, and was premiered in Sweden in 2021. Here it received its UK premiere, and as an exploration of Covid-induced separation and isolation, it provided an interesting counterpoint to Fidelio’s theme of incarceration and rescue. There are influences of Sweden and the Netherlands, reflecting the two soloists’ heritages, but also Scotland, Beamish’s adopted homeland for many years. With family connections to Sweden and Scotland, enforced separation was also very real for Beamish.
Beginning with the soloists offstage, muted brass set the scene with sliding cellos, then the soloists alternated, emulating kulning, calls of women to cows in the pastures. On stage the orchestra responded with rippling strings or chattering woodwind, almost like comments on the distant cries. Eventually the soloists appeared and the orchestral chatter built, with strident cowbells introducing a swinging dance. Following more virtuosic skirmishes from the highly mobile and animated soloists, and droning strings evoking the nyckelharpa, complex, jerky rhythms abounded, with Noseda keeping a tight rein.
The highly expansive second movement conjured up open landscape, distance and longing, with birdlike flourishes from the soloists and bell-like percussion, whilst the finale mixed a Renaissance march with a 13th century Dutch troubadour song. The virtuosic demands on the soloists are high, with both players here demonstrating their exemplary command. The spiky, complex orchestral rhythms were not always in perfect sync, but Noseda and the players’ energy matched the soloists’ drive and conviction. The work ended with the soloists drifting away, this time remaining at either side of the stage, as their kulning faded away over faintly rumbling timpani.
Prokofiev’s final "Children’s Symphony" was commissioned by the Soviet Children’s Radio Division. The clockwork glockenspiel and flute figure in the first movement is certainly toylike, but its eerie return at the symphony’s conclusion gives it a darker purpose, especially with Prokofiev’s original intentions for a quiet ending restored. Initially he was persuaded to add an upbeat finish for its first performance to please the authorities. But he made it clear before his death the following year that the more subdued, even resigned ending should be performed in future.
Noseda had a strong command throughout here, and from the opening angular violin theme, with cellos responding in kind, through to woodwind solos in the third movement’s relentless melodic line, orchestral precision was impressive. The finale’s gallop, with its hints of Alexander Nevsky’s Battle on the Ice, had raucous drive, with Noseda windmilling as if turning a huge steering wheel, but the denouement of the toy clock’s return against strident but dying orchestral protests was darkly chilling. The second movement’s contrasts between sensual waltzing, comic circus-style moments and wilder driven sections, with the woodwind steering the harmonies off course, could have been more brutal, and the first movement could have taken more bite. Otherwise this was an emphatically commanding performance from Noseda and the LSO to end a highly engaging concert.
