Singapore witnesses Mario Venzago's completion of Schubert’s “Unfinished”

The final Singapore Symphony Orchestra event of this year was not a Christmas concert but one with unusual couplings that worked despite its oddities. Led by Swiss guest conductor Mario Venzago, it began fairly predictably with Carl Maria von Weber’s Overture to Der Freischütz. Unison strings and a French horn chorale acquitted themselves well before leading to the Allegro which thrilled with a high speed romp. This standalone orchestral excerpt was an extension of Rossini’s overtures, but Weber in 1821 was already looking ahead to Wagner’s epics to come. 

Receiving its Singapore premiere was Dmitri Kabalevsky’s Cello Concerto no. 2 in C minor with British cellist Steven Isserlis as soloist. Kabalevsky is often regarded as a poor man’s Prokofiev or Shostakovich. He avoided the 1948 Zhdanov-led purges by toeing the party line and writing mostly uncontroversial music, much of it for young people. He only trod the path after his more illustrious colleagues had cleared the minefield. Despite that, the concerto was a good undemanding listen, with Isserlis a very persuasive advocate by wringing out drama and pathos through its conjoint three movements. 

The slow-fast-slow form gave much room for introspection, opening with solo pizzicatos, followed by elegiac musings and the occasional outburst. The fast central movement had the surprise of an alto saxophone solo, extrovertly helmed by Samuel Phua. Isserlis’ cadenzas which linked the movements were heart-rending, animated as his silver locks flew in the air. The ending was quiet and retiring, but clearly moved the audience to applaud vociferously. Isserlis reciprocated with two Russian encores in the keys of C: Prokofiev’s March for Children (Op.65 No.10) and Kabalevsky’s Study in Major in Minor (Op.68 No.3). 

Also for the first time, the Singapore audience witnessed the completion of Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony, in a four-movement edition by the conductor. The final two movements, he claimed, had been “lost” by his predecessor at the Graz Philhamonic, one Anselm Hüttenbrenner. With the reconstructed movements appended, the playing time is distended to some 46 minutes, thus comparable in scope with Schubert’s “Great” C major. 

Performances of the familiar two movements tend to be expansive, sometimes protracted, but Venzago took them at a more than usual brisk pace. The B minor introduction from cellos and basses was suitably sombre, but the broad main melody in G major ran the risk of sounding harried or impatient. However, he provided the impetus that made the music sound coherent, including a pacier Andante con moto in E major which, in a paradigm shift, was no longer the symphony’s final movement. Also gone was the notion this was to be some solemn requiem. 

The Scherzo, back in the home key of B minor, was reconstructed from 30 fully orchestrated bars and a short score. The music was decidedly jocular, consistent with Schubertian Scherzi, and a lovely surprise came in the Trio in G major, which most listeners will recognise as the Ballet Music no. 1 from the incidental music for Rosamunde. The finale was also a case of reverse engineering, incorporating much of the martial music from Entr’acte no.1 from Rosamunde. But Venzago has a little trick up his sleeve towards the end, a reprise of the sombre first movement introduction now sounding like a distant echo, before closing in a blaze of triumph. An interesting experiment, and the audience liked it. Was it faithful or convincing? Only time will tell.