Aleksandar Djermanović was apparently tucking into his breakfast on Saturday morning when the telephone rang, and he was asked if he could perform Chopin’s Piano Concerto no. 1. I imagine him joyfully saying yes, and then asking when, already working out his rehearsal schedule in his mind, whereupon he was confronted with the astounding reply, “This afternoon, in Tunbridge Wells.” The pre-concert announcement informed us that Lara Melda, the scheduled pianist, had succumbed to “a winter illness” the previous evening: a swift replacement was required. One can imagine the panic, and then the relief when Djermanović was found and agreed to step into the breach, with no change of programme.
This is a “non-professional” orchestra, so one might expect some surprises in the quality of the playing, but the cellos’ presentation of the jaunty folksy opening theme of Hamish MacCunn’s overture was very attractively done, with crisp articulation. The most welcome surprise was the horn solo in the central section which was beautifully accomplished. In a concert with Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony, any evidence that the horns were up to the task is reassuring, and David Lee, who played first horn, is in no sense a non-professional. The orchestra brought the overture to a rousing close, embellished by the only cymbal clashes of the evening.
Enter the saviour of the day, Djermanović, obliged to sit silent at his piano whilst the orchestra deliver Chopin’s atmospheric introduction of the movement’s themes. It’s a difficult opening to bring off as everyone, including Chopin, seems to be waiting for the piano to come in, and it sounded just a little lacklustre. Djermanović (playing from memory!) began a little uneasily, a touch wooden – nervous, no doubt, and who wouldn’t be? – but as the movement progressed he became more and more fluid and the performance grew in stature. It was certainly not a wilting, overexpressive view of Chopin, nor was it overcome by virtuoso bombast, but it had an admirable restraint which leant it a nobility not always brought to this music. The slow movement passed like a melancholy dream, but always avoiding sentimentality, and the Rondo: Vivace, though perhaps a bit short on Vivace, had a very attractive lilt to it – whether this was an interpretative decision, or making a virtue of necessity given the limited rehearsal time, I don’t know, but it rounded off what was a remarkably impressive performance. I’ve since learnt that the soloist had only ever played the concerto with an orchestra once before: you wouldn’t have known. His interpretation seemed considered and searching, and allowed the expressive musical quality of the work to speak unencumbered by exaggerated interventions.
The programme note by Marjorie Vinall warned us to expect the Bruckner symphony to open “with a very quiet scrubbing on the strings”. Fortunately the strings managed a tremolo that rose above mere scrubbing and created wonderfully that atmospheric space into which the horn sounds its magical call and sets the movement on its way. Conductor Neil Thomson immediately revealed his skill in the management of the crescendo of the first theme group, and the whole exposition paragraph was nicely shaped. The second theme, a birdcall-based string theme, could perhaps have been a touch lighter and more beguiling, but overall the power and vision of the movement came through very strongly. At the very end the four horns repeatedly blare out fortissimo the opening horn call, and they blew for all they were worth, even managing a crescendo for their final long-held note – very exhilarating!