Mostly Mozart and Finzi make a euphonious coupling in Singapore

There was a time when the Singapore Symphony Orchestra performed Mozart symphonies as an obligation, tacked onto a programme like an afterthought to accompany some Romantic blockbuster or major concerto. No longer, with music director Hans Graf’s tenure and the pandemic shifting the emphasis to chamber-sized repertoire, with Mozart and Haydn being the biggest beneficiaries. 

Conducted by young, dynamic Venezuelan Rodolfo Barráez, this evening showcased two mature Mozart symphonies, demonstrating that much of Graf’s influence has rubbed off well. Opening the concert was Symphony no. 35 in D major, the “Haffner”, named after the Salzburg family which commissioned Mozart to write a serenade from which this symphony was reworked. A martial spirit was established at its outset with an outsized sonority that made no concession to the period instrument mincing niceties. Yet when flexibility was called for, as in the contrasting second subject, the ensemble was sensitive to adapt. The Andante was distinguished by grace and refinement, its subtle nuances well realised. By contrast, the Menuetto was full of bluster, contrasted by a Trio with a gentle lilt. The finale which followed attacca was literally taken at its word – Presto – making for a stormy and passionate close. This performance may be summed up by Mozart’s description at its opening: con spirito. 

A similar approach was taken for Symphony no. 39 in E flat major, the most congenial of Mozart’s famous final symphonic trilogy. Resolute E flat major chords, foretelling Beethoven’s Eroica, heralded the Adagio introduction, with dissonance building up its tension. The ensuing Allegro was one completely at odds with the earlier symphony, gentler and less belligerent. The result was no less satisfying with excitement levels maintained at full throttle. 

The call and response thread in the slow movement, first with the first and second violins, and later with woodwinds and lower strings, was a true musical conversation perfectly executed. Another vigorous Menuetto ensued, this time contrasted by the Trio’s clarinet duet, delightfully helmed by Li Xin and Tang Xiaoping. The finale had exhilarating string-playing, complemented with excellent woodwinds and a pair of very busy French horns, closing this ‘mostly Mozart’ evening on a high. 

One might have expected Mozart’s evergreen Clarinet Concerto sandwiched between symphonies, but instead came a rare performance of Gerald Finzi’s Clarinet Concerto of 1949. Despite its late postwar date, this music belongs to the hallowed realm of English pastoral and string traditions, more aligned with Vaughan Williams and Elgar. After a vigorous string opening, the tenor was one of sheer lyricism. SSO principal clarinettist Ma Yue, who recently made a brave recovery from career-threatening illness, coaxed a smooth and velvety tone that defined the moving reading. Articulated with not just mere tinges of melancholy, but dollops worth, the concerto is a poignant reflection of Finzi’s short and tragedy-filled life (he was to die seven years later aged just 55). 

The irony could not have been more apparent in the very brief cadenza at the first movement’s close, and the slow movement’s muted strings. Ma’s long-breathed solo lines were a true elegy and, despite the strings’ passionate outburst, he would stoutly not be drawn in. The finale’s joie d’espirit in a major key provided a shift in fortunes, but a lingering quote from the opening movement was a sobering reminder that happiness is only transitory. Drawing plentiful applause, Ma’s delightful encore of Italian clarinettist-composer Michele Mangani’s Pagina d’Album was cut from the same cloth.