Coenraad Visser Classical music
Unlike its auspicious opening season, the second season of the newly independent National Symphony Orchestra is a rather uneven affair.
Russian conductor Vladimir Simkine showed all the good qualities one has come to expect of him – a thorough knowledge of the scores and strict control of the orchestra. In the large-scale romantic works of his homeland, these qualities stood him and the orchestra in good stead. At the same time, though, one often felt that his iron hand wrung these works dry of any sense of fantasy. And, ultimately, fantasy is what they are all about.
Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony, one of the great programme symphonies of all time, is inspired by a long dramatic poem by Byron. Its four movements evoke the hero’s state of mind or specific scenes. Its inventive scoring makes it perhaps one of the composer’s greatest works. Under Simkine, the NSO seemed to concentrate on building massive washes of sound (rather futile, though, given the understaffed string section, for one), where brute power substituted for raw passion. Charm and affection were almost completely lacking.
Scheherazade, Rimsky-Korsakov’s treatment of one of the tales of the Arabian nights, likewise demands more than orchestral precision and finesse, even when presented with such abundance by the NSO under Simkine. Even though the orchestra painted a vivid sound picture, it remained rich rather than sensuous, structured rather than spontaneous. The undulating line for solo violin, which represents the enchanting story teller, was played ably, though not beguilingly, by Caius Oprea, the NSO concert master.
Simkine’s first soloist, pianist Ronald Brautigam, was oddly enough more freely romantic in Beethoven’s Fourth Concerto than in Saint-Sans’ second. Brautigam’s technique was never seriously tested by the works; but ultimately, these performances were just too considered, often too ponderous. Local pianist Christopher Duigan made rather a meal of Liszt’s Totentanz, handfuls of wrong notes too many for the professional stage.
Simkine’s unstylish reading of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony was matched by his successor’s equally messy readings of Mozart’s Prague and Beethoven’s Second Symphonies. American George Hansen seemed lost, hard pressed to find any semblance of classical style.
NSO members Miroslav Tchakarian (violin) and Irina Ivanova (viola) were rather rough and ready in Mozart’s charming Sinfonia Concertante, while Pedro Burmester presented a rather self-conscious and introspective reading of the same composer’s Piano Concerto No 24.
Of the two innocuous South African works programmed, John Simon’s Symphonic Prelude certainly deserved performance far more than Theo Wendt’s Concerto Tango, more koeksister than salsa. But when will the NSO present a full symphony by a South African composer, or at least a large-scale symphonic work?
On Wednesday and Thursday at 8pm in the Linder Auditorium, Richard Cock conducts the NSO in works by Arnold and Van Dijk. Anmari van der Westhuizen is the soloist in Elgar’s cello concerto.