Following well-received performances of Mozart’s Violin Concerto no. 3 and no. 4 earlier in the month, LPO artist-in-residence Julia Fischer returned to the stage at the Royal Festival Hall to play the composer’s first two forays into the genre. Considered programming is not always guaranteed, but the selection of Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings in C major was a sound decision, reflecting not just Tchaikovsky’s appreciation of Mozart’s music but his specific nod to the composer in the Serenade itself.
Thomas Søndergård had conducted the previous two concerts in the series, but for this programme the LPO dispensed with the services of a conductor altogether. If this were to have been a problem one might have anticipated it more in the Tchaikovsky, with the larger forces involved and the more substantial nature of the piece, but interestingly it was in the Violin Concerto no. 1 in B flat major where a guiding force seemed most needed. A couple of moments, largely confined to the Allegro and Adagio, saw just a hint of disunity among the players in timing. That and one or two tricky points for the horns aside, we were treated to an accomplished rendition of the piece.
Fischer’s playing was impeccable: elegantly considered with total precision and beautiful toning particularly at the instrument’s highest reaches where she filed the sound down to gossamer threads that never came close to breaking. While Fischer did not play up the gleeful youthful mirth of the concerto – it’s now dated to 1773 when Mozart was just 17 – there was a quiet appreciation of the humour and spirit of the piece. What a pleasure, too, to hear complete cohesion in approach between orchestra and soloist where we had no issues with balance or mood. It may not be a vehicle for lavish virtuosity but in Fischer’s hands the concerto – particularly the brisk passages of the Presto, dispatched with casual assurance – was a luxury of a different kind. Mozart was still a teenager but a couple of years older when he dashed out his Violin Concerto no. 2 in D major and the experience he had gained in the intervening years is clear. Fischer and the LPO emphasised the polite, almost courtly nature of the piece, particularly in the Adagio which saw silky playing from the string section.
Moving forward by a century to 1880, the stage was emptied of woodwind et al, to be replaced by a battalion of strings for Tchaikovsky’s Serenade. It’s a big, meaty work which was played here with pinpoint precision by the LPO, Fischer taking first chair. Layer was built upon layer, a boldness of sound which in no way obscured the clear detail of the playing. Particularly appreciable was the glossy mahogany of the cellos purring against the hum of the violins in the first movement, the sustained crystalline playing of the violins in the second movement Waltz and the plush pizzicato in the final movement. Tchaikovsky felt the Serenade to be among his best works and at a performance of this quality it would be hard to disagree.
