This concert was the second of three in the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’s valuable series of the five Mendelssohn symphonies, plus three concertos. We heard the Third and Fifth, the Scottish and Reformation. Sir András Schiff was conducting, but first he performed the Piano Concerto no. 2 in D minor, where his ‘conducting’ was limited to the few moments when his hands were liberated from the keyboard of his fortepiano (Bluthner no.726, since you ask, from about 1859).
To unaccustomed ears this instrument sounded rather shallow, so that in the first movement some fast loud chordal passages became a touch pugilistic (from Schiff, of all artists!). But the slow movement especially was a delight from soloist and several OAE players, responding to each other in chamber music style. The finale brought some audience whoops, enough to produce an encore. Since we now heard more Mendelssohn, and twelve minutes of it, in variation form, I took this unannounced item to be his Variations sérieuses. It made a more substantial impression than the concerto.
The first movement of the Reformation Symphony’s opening Andante section was suitably sombre, and the strings’ “Dresden Amen” slow and devout. The main Allegro con fuoco was fiery enough, the OAE responding well to Schiff’s direction – with his batonless clenched hands and plenty of energy, despite the number of fortepiano notes he had just played. The Vivace revealed the OAE’s pungent woodwind sounds, and the concentrated playing of the very brief Andante provided a still centre to the work. The finale opened with a serene solo from Principal Flute Liza Beznosiuk, Luther’s chorale Ein feste Burg is unser Gott, (A mighty fortress is our God), familiar from its use in Bach’s cantata. Its maestoso peroration made a stirring close to a first part 80 minutes long.
The best performance of the concert ensued, the Symphony no. 3 in A minor, “Scottish”. This was advertised in the foyer notices as playing for 39 minutes, effectively pre-announcing that the first movement exposition repeat would be observed (as it was). There are benefits to the repeat, aside from doing what the composer asks. Here, after the introductory Andante con moto, the start of the Allegro was slightly hesitant and imprecise, but at the repeat it was perfect, as was much that followed. There was further engaging wind playing, especially from Principal Clarinet Katherine Spencer’s lively articulation in opening the Vivace non troppo , and the whole OAE sound glowed during the Adagio.
Of the Finale, Schiff explained in the programme booklet: “The challenge for the conductor and orchestra is to make the ending work... but I think I have a solution. Mendelssohn gives precise instructions about how the coda should be played, but it risks being very repetitive, becoming noisier and more crowded. It’s better to start from far away, so that it gets nearer and nearer, and it can take a certain acceleration to come to a jubilant close.” Whatever precisely that entailed, it worked. Schiff’s control, his long view of the ending, and the mutual trust between conductor and players, made a stirring conclusion to this splendid piece.
