Another British music extravaganza from Sir Antonio Pappano and London Symphony Orchestra proved to be a hit for an enthusiastic full house at the Barbican. The concert opened with a rare outing for the music of Elizabeth Maconchy, the most gifted of Vaughan Williams' pupils and one of the most underrated composers of her generation. Her Nocturne for large orchestra was written in 1950 and is a seven-minute work of intensity and beauty. Maconchy had a piquant harmonic palette and a fine grasp on orchestral colour. The music is brooding and dark with a middle section that blossoms romantically. Pappano and the LSO perfectly captured the score's richness, revealing its intricate orchestral details.
Walton wrote his Cello Concerto in 1956 to a commission from Gregor Piatigorsky who gave the 1957 premiere in Boston. By this time in his career the composer was beginning to meet resistance from some critics, finding him stuck in his musical development. The premiere was duly met with decidedly mixed reviews. Since then, the concerto has grown slowly in popularity, with many more cellists bringing it into their repertoire. It certainly is an attractive work, carefully written to showcase the soloist, with much melodic interest. Stepping into the limelight as soloist was Principal Cello, Rebecca Gilliver. After a nervy start she settled into the technical challenges well. The central Scherzo was brilliantly brought off, with Pappano and the LSO rhythmically incisive and light on their feet. The unusually structured variation form finale, with its two cadenzas surrounding an angry orchestral variation, was held together well. When the movement concludes by returning to the concerto’s mysterious opening theme, Gilliver found a beautiful softness to her tone.
The opening of Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony sweeps all before it. The grand declamatory “Behold, the sea itself” signalled the arrival of new powerful voice in British music and a move away from the oratorio churchiness of the choral writing of composers such as Parry and even Elgar. Pappano’s approach was red-blooded and passionate. The pacing of the opening movement was superbly handled, pulling back the tempo slightly to then push forward towards the climaxes. The choice of soloists also set the performance apart, with the American baritone Will Liverman, incisive and robust, wonderfully clear in the Walt Whitman texts, sung appropriately with an American accent. The South African soprano, Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, oozed star quality, effortlessly producing a large, lustrous tone which filled the hall, while superbly floating her high notes.
The lapping waves and the mystical vision of the slow movement, On the Beach at Night Alone, were depicted vividly by the orchestra, while Liverman projected the text with insight and power. The Scherzo was a showpiece for the London Symphony Chorus and they didn’t disappoint, pliable and robust as they were throughout. It is with the long finale, The Explorers, that most performances stand or fall. Pappano’s approach was to be always moving forward, from a slow beginning, gradually building the intensity. The soloists were Puccinian in their great duet before the music moved quickly into the limitless depths. This was a performance to treasure, one of the greatest Vaughan Williams interpretations I have experienced in a concert hall.
