It was with hushed anticipation that the audience descended upon the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday afternoon. The Aurora Orchestra, having already shown their ability to perform Mozart's Symphony no. 40 in G minor from memory at last year’s proms, had promised to deliver bigger, better and harder to remember: Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. Once again prommers were left wondering, “Can it be done?”.
Before these questions could be answered, the audience was thrust into a sound-world that was quite removed from that of Beethoven. Brett Dean’s own Pastoral Symphony made a return to the hall it was premiered in 15 years ago. In this symphony, Dean decries society’s acceptance of environmental destruction in favour of consumerist culture. The work has projected onto it a narrative, which is cemented by the live triggering of electronic samples: birdsong, a tree being cut down, a plane zooming overhead and a cinematic thump to signify the death of the natural world. The piece had a clear teleology, and the juxtaposition of contrasts was well judged. The work would have benefited from additional strings; in their somewhat reduced scoring they weren’t able to take the foreground when required. The performance was gutsy, if a little rough and ready.
As this raw, tragic soundscape subsided, the audience prepared for Mozart’s more reserved Piano Concerto no. 26 in D major. The opening movement’s orchestral introduction was crisp, and it was evident that considerable effort had gone into cultivating a quasi-period instrument gloss to the string sound. Francesco Piemontesi’s tone colour was clear, sweet and even. Octaves were well balanced between hands, but at times bass lines could have been more present. Sudden changes to minor keys were a little lacking in impetus and there was the inclusion of a celeste, courtesy of Christian Zacharias' quirky cadenza.
The second movement was light with sensitive accompaniment from the strings. Piemontesi gave the scalic rise and falls a lovely arc, and the melodic ornamentation a characterful flair. Collon pushed the orchestra attacca into the final movement and here, for the first time in the concerto, there was huge dynamic contrast. Unfortunately there were also ensemble problems, and a mismatching of articulations between lower strings and lower winds, and again of phrasing between soloist and orchestra. Overall however, Piemontesi was practically faultless, playing with elegance and virtuosity. As his encore he brought forth the “Duetto” from Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words, a wonderful jewel. Piemontesi gave Mendelssohn a porcelain beauty, and the piano truly sang wonderfully voiced melodies.