As a welcome part of the Sydney Opera House’s 50th anniversary celebrations, the day after their concert on Saturday, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields led by its Musical Director, Joshua Bell, gave a second performance in the Concert Hall. Not unlike the rest of the repertoire on their current tour, this programme consisted of much-loved audience favourites. Nothing wrong with that, of course, although the unique views of this excellent ensemble on any of the last century’s masterpieces would have been fascinating to hear.
Their approach to this repertoire was honestly old-fashioned. On the one hand, this meant a highly polished trio of performances of beautiful masterpieces, offering a lovely evening out. On the other, opting for consistently conservative performance styles of box-office-safe 18th– and 19th-century works locks such concerts into a musical museum, carefully avoiding artistic risks as well as diverse influences, which otherwise constantly effect our daily lives. The question of “Should the Arts stay immune from Life’s events or should they reflect them?” could be asked.
The opening number was the overture from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, in a faultless and brisk performance, energetically led by Bell from the concert master’s chair. The lively tempi became an obvious characteristic of the evening, evident also in the first movement of the next work, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, often played much slower than the composer’s instructions would suggest. Bell sensitively merged his excellently shaped solo with conducting the tutti sections. Only the occasional shades of intonational impurities were left as reminders that he, in fact, was fulfilling two jobs: conductor and soloist. His interpretation underlined a consistently great range of dynamic contrasts and careful balances between the various sections of his ensemble, while following a reasonably straightforward reading of the solo part, seldom giving room to emotional excesses.
The slow movement presented tender qualities with more lyrical sounds, allowing both conductor and orchestra to play in lovely soft tones. The finale was taken with a refreshingly simple touch, never losing its light-footed elegance. The various cadenzas that Bell chose were not Beethoven’s original ones, but allowed the soloist to showcase his impeccable technique and solid musicianship.
The final work on the programme, Mozart’s Symphony no. 40 in G minor, was appropriately passion-drive. Despite the occasional problems with ensemble playing, Bell’s highly vigorous leadership brought many advantages. He was not conducting in a traditional sense, a smart and thoughtful decision, yet his body language, the constant swaying of his upper body and the continuous eye contact with his colleagues put the performance on solid foundations with clear phrasing and the by now familiar, energetic tempi.
As a result of the faster pulse in general, the Menuetto felt less a jovial dance (as it was in its traditional, classical form) but more like a precursor of Beethoven Scherzos a decade or so later. In the Finale, storm clouds gathered, and turbulent emotions were exposed through a heightened sense of excitement. It all ended on a positive note though, with the Valse movement from Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, in a gentle lilting, heart-warming performance. The sun was out again.
