A promising Finn, an enfant terrible and a late Romantic at the height of his powers brought accumulating excitement from the Philharmonia Orchestra. Bookending the young firebrand Prokofiev was the steadily emerging Sibelius and the torment of Tchaikovsky whose Fifth Symphony grapples with Fate on a journey from darkness to light.
Hearing the final part of Sibelius’ four-movement Lemminkäinen Suite of 1896 was a rare pleasure and made for an invigorating curtain opener. This account of Lemminkäinen’s Return reminded us of the entire suite (which includes The Swan of Tuonela) and the myth telling of Lemminkäinen’s death and magical rebirth. The work also gave the Philharmonia an opportunity to demonstrate the finesse of its playing in a work that only intermittently hints at the Sibelius more readily recognised in his symphonies. In addition, this stirring account enabled us to register the prowess of the young Finnish conductor Emilia Hoving who has recently emerged from Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy and become one of the most exciting conductors of her generation. Undoubtedly, she is a stylish platform presence, her energy and enthusiasm generating an exciting frisson that prioritises drama over delicacy.
This was to hinder Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto no. 1 in D major where the soloist Esther Yoo occasionally struggled to balance with the orchestra. Prokofiev had commented to a friend that this “concerto is orchestrated in such a way that if the sonorities of the various sections are not balanced the result is only God knows what.” Yoo was a technically accomplished protagonist, but her limited palette and slender tone did not always meet the range of moods Prokofiev intended. There was little expressive freedom, yet she responded admirably to the first movement’s lyricism and other-worldliness, if not fully enjoying the chutzpah of the mechanistic Scherzo. She seemed more at home in the Finale, bringing soulfulness and a more yielding tone to its radiance. Throughout, the orchestra were sensitive collaborators, individual contributions catching the ear without intruding on a performance that never quite revealed the composer’s sardonic wit. For an encore, Yoo and the orchestra’s leader Mohamed Hiber performed the second movement of Prokofiev’s Sonata for Two Violins, muscular playing to the fore.
Then it was the Tchaikovsky, a symphony too often heard at the expense of his earlier works in the genre. Indeed, as far back as 1904, The Times observed of the work that “there is nothing new to be said, so familiar has Mr Wood’s interpretation of it become”. Of course, there’s room for another conductor’s reading and this one from Hoving brought much exhilaration. Hers was a heart-on-sleeve account where climaxes felt slightly blunted simply because tensions had been raised too soon, noticeably in the second movement. That said, mood changes were well caught, and lower strings purred beneath an impressive horn solo. Earlier, the work’s noble character was outlined by the solemnity of Maura Marinucci’s clarinet and thereafter a well-paced movement unfolded. Making an unequivocal presence was the timpanist, whose no-holds-barred approach seemed to be summoning Fate all by himself. The Valse had plenty of zing to conjure society ballgowns with string playing as light as air. The Finale was an adrenalin-fuelled affair, its life-affirming closing paragraph (timpani ever more assertive) bringing unequivocal fist shaking, darkness overwhelmed by a blazing radiance. In short, a performance of terrific conviction, the Philharmonia on blistering form.
