Haydn’s operas rarely make it onto the stage, however the BBC Philharmonic and conductor Eva Ollikainen opened their Bridgewater Hall concert with the overture to L’isola disabitata (The Deserted Island), dramatic in nature with its use of Sturm und Drang, and played with panache and grace. The strings played impressively and lightly with minimal-to-no vibrato. The different sections of the overture had varying colours and textures making this feel like a symphony in miniature. Ollikainen relished the individual characters of each section, but at times the dynamics were a little to bland to fully convince.
Continuing in the Classical vein, celebrated pianist Richard Goode joined the orchestra for a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 18 in B flat major. Like the Haydn before it, the orchestration has one flute and no trumpets or timpani, so drama needs to be created in different ways. Goode has such an affinity with this work, emphasising the bolder episodes with dotted rhythms to the gentler lyrical moments with their cantabile melodies.
Throughout all three movements, Goode slid in and out of the textures, at times being the sympathetic accompanist, allowing the orchestra to have their moment, others coming to the fore as the rightful soloist. This was endearing and brought gentility to the performance. Goode reeled off the first and third movement cadenzas effortlessly and modestly, without any extravagant gestures, letting the music speak for itself. Ollikainen found much more detail and subtlety than in the Haydn, bringing more variety to the orchestral palette, often imitating Goode, but not always the same details.