A tongue-in-cheek Widmann premiere in Berlin

If it is true that Bruckner referred to his Sixth Symphony as his “cheekiest”, the programme assembled by Sir Simon Rattle for his recent concert with the Berliner Philharmoniker was indeed of an impish sort. With the symphony taking up the second half of the evening, the highlight was the world premiere of Jörg Widmann’s Horn Concerto, a joint commission from several major orchestras, including the Berlin Phil. The work marks one more step in Widmann’s collaboration with the orchestra as this season’s Composer-in-Residence. More specifically, the concerto is dedicated to the orchestra’s principal horn, Stefan Dohr. 

A regular presence throughout the past few months, Widmann has by now acquainted Berlin audiences with his characteristic compositional style. His peculiar approach to musical forms, unorthodox eye for tradition and underlying humour make his music not only recognisable, but popular among the public. The Horn Concerto follows in these footsteps. Structured in seven movements with more or less evocative titles (Reverie, Scherzo à la surprise, Premonition...), the score brims with different materials, tracing not just a history of horn-playing, but a present and possibly a future.

Widmann’s curiosity about the potential of an instrument, predominant in his works for clarinet, was evident here too. While paying his dues to the distinct timbre of the horn, Dohr also showcased a variety of sounds that one hardly believed possible – and by this I don’t necessarily mean impossibly difficult techniques. With deadpan control, Dohr alternated virtuoso playing with rather unserious effects, including cartoonish tics and raspberry-blowing noises. None other than a master like Dohr could have dissected the anatomy of his instrument so thoroughly.

The work’s pliant idiom ranged from contemporary timbral experimentation to self-aware Old Hollywood-ish sentimentality, through Mahler (with the Adagietto reminiscent of the composer’s own slow movements) and citations of Rossini, Johann Strauss I and Offenbach. Rattle’s ability to bring such different worlds together made the score easily appealing to the audience, cementing what could have otherwise been bumpy territory.

Where Bruckner saw cheekiness, others have seen a misstep in the composer’s output. Indeed, his Sixth has been regarded by many as the least convincing of his symphonies, usually because of its atypical nature. Perhaps Rattle’s interpretation could encourage a reassessment. His conducting brought to light the work’s qualities, drawing wide musical arcs with constant harmonic tension. Strings led the performance, the lower ones providing volume, the higher ones flowing with smooth phrasing. Particularly in the Adagio, their dialogue with the oboe produced a spaciousness so unique to late-Romantic slow movements. However, Rattle didn’t lose track of the more rhythmic sections of the symphony. Both the opening Majestoso and the Scherzo had moments of pulsing brightness, and by the time he reached the Finale, the Berlin Phil was going at full tilt, ending on a triumphal note.