It’s not every season opening concert that begins with nine bagpipers(!) but in a bold, theatrical flourish, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra launched their new season at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall with just that. Positioned dramatically in the foyer gallery, the pipers signalled the start of LAD, an explosive work by Julia Wolfe. The piece marked the beginning of Wolfe’s tenure as Composer-in-Residence, and set the tone for an evening that was anything but conventional.
The concert proper opened with Wolfe’s Fountain of Youth, scored for large orchestra (and four washboards) this work is on a mammoth scale. Like LAD, this is elemental music – urgent, physical and raw. The soundscape is vast and deliberately unruly, as dissonance clashes with consonance in bold, tectonic waves. Occasional bursts of unison provide moments of clarity, almost comforting after the surrounding turbulence. While not a conventional work in any sense, Fountain of Youth was a visceral experience, conjuring a mythical, quaking energy with unmistakable conviction. It grounded the audience in something primal, untamed and almost unearthly.
A change of scale followed, the orchestra pared down to the more modest forces required for Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto no. 2 in G minor, with Augustin Hadelich joining Chief Conductor John Storgårds on stage. Prokofiev uses the orchestra sparingly here, and both Hadelich and Storgårds achieved a wonderfully balanced sound across the concerto’s three moderately paced movements.
From the commanding opening solo to the brilliance of the finale, Hadelich was outstanding. The first movement had gravitas, then Hadelich’s beautiful tone and range of vibrato gave the second movement a beguiling cantabile quality. In the finale, his virtuosity shone as he led with flair. Storgårds followed with equal conviction, bringing out the dance-like character of the music. Though the work is more introspective than some of Prokofiev’s other concertos, their combined vision gave this performance a strong expressive voice.
After the interval came a riveting interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. This was no routine reading. Storgårds found poetry in every phrase, taking tempo markings directly and drawing sharp contrasts across movements. His focus on woodwind detail and dynamic extremes made for a thrilling performance, the BBC Phil rising to every demand.
The opening Andante was assured, with clarinettist Fraser Langton delivering his solo with a rich, velvety tone in the chalumeau register. The transition to the Allegro con anima was full of energy and drive. The second movement’s horn solo was tenderly played, while the rapid shifts in mood and colour kept it emotionally charged. The third movement waltz was brisk, with characterful bassoon playing from Roberto Giaccaglia. The finale was an intensely strong whirlwind, the string section’s agility in the rapid scale passages was particularly impressive throughout. Storgårds pushed the orchestra to the limit, and just when it seemed they had given everything, they delivered even more. The final bars were magnificently radiant – a triumphant end to a gripping evening.
