Two Shostakovich works bookended this London Symphony Orchestra programme, both in their way (on paper at least) at the more overtly celebratory end of his output. The Festive Overture, written for the Bolshoi’s 1954 celebration of the anniversary of the October Revolution, is Shostakovich at his jolliest. Despite the tiniest of fluffs in the opening brass fanfare, Noseda took the LSO through a tight and spirited rendition, with strong articulation from the strings in particular. Gianandrea Noseda and the players kept on top of the lengthy passages of rapid offbeat rhythms which can sometimes run away in less controlled hands, and Noseda even managed a little dancing on the podium in the string interlude that precedes the final climax. That climax’s wild race, heralded by enormous timpani and drum crashes, brought the evening’s opening romp to a suitably celebratory finish.
Then to Sir James MacMillan and his Violin Concerto no. 2, with Nicola Benedetti, for whom it was written. Premiered in 2022 in Perth, tonight’s performance was its London premiere. Its single movement for chamber forces stems from lockdown, which MacMillan described as an introverted time, and it has a contained, internal atmosphere. There are no wild fireworks, although the frequent string crossing and stopping for the soloist is certainly challenging. There’s a particularly aggressive central solo, where Benedetti didn’t hold back on, producing lots of extra ‘noise’ from the bow and wood of the instrument, and she also mesmerised with rapid minimalist repetitions, as well as rising trills at the opening. But it was in the more lyrical moments, tinged with sadness that the piece came alive. And towards the end MacMillan’s master stroke, a series of duets between the soloist and different instruments, started playfully with the double bass and ended with a sweet duet with the leader. Thick strings and timpani crashes returned the opening mood, before the piece ended with birdlike woodwind trills over serene chords. Definitely a work to hear again to better understand its overall trajectory – this programme is repeated at the Bristol Beacon tomorrow – but committed and intense playing from Benedetti definitely convinced of its merits.
As for the Symphony no. 12, “The Year 1917”, Noseda and the LSO certainly went for its over-the-top bombast, from the frequent massed brass moments and the thwacking drums and timpani to the surging accents in the thrashing opening Allegro. Noseda even jumping up and down on the podium at one point. There was a relentlessness to the sheer intensity and volume here, but Noseda and the orchestra kept us with them by fully exploiting the moments of ‘downtime’, few and far between though they are. So they gave us thick, romantic strings, quietly ominous playing from the cellos and double basses, and a particularly sultry solo from the clarinet in the second movement. Is a more subversive reading possible, with the quote from nationalist Sibelius’ Lemminkäinen in Tuonela in the midst of the second movement, Razliv (in Finland), and its meandering questioning both in this movement, but also in the midst of the supposedly defiant final movement? Well, Noseda was not making any transparent point here, allowing the music to play and for us to decide. That full-on finish, a feat of stamina for all involved, was indeed electric, but within that, Noseda still managed to shape some of the final surges, almost running forward to the edge of the podium and back. All in all, a fine performance of a work that always leaves one questioning its intent.
