BY THOMAS MISSON
Violin Got Soul
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra with Baiba Skride (violin)
Federation Concert Hall, 19 August
This Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra program was largely folk inspired, featuring Janacek’s Lachian Dances, Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1, Ravel’s Tzigane and selections from Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances.
The Janacek made a fittingly grand entrance; the brass and string balance immediately satisfying in the opening Starodavny with its nuptial, celebratory themes well-captured. The Dymak (Blacksmith’s Dance) was colourful with a bold and distinct character and impressive rhythmic definition from the cellos. By contrast, the second Starodavny captured a lazy, Bohemian nostalgia. A light, whimsical, fairy-tale-like depiction of labouring, the final Saw Dance was the highlight of the set with the timpanis booming like the felling of timber. This set was effectively performed and emotionally light to ease the audience in.
Next the TSO welcomed Baiba Skride for Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1, providing immediate contrast to the Janacek’s humble rurality. The first movement’s adoring opening melody exposed Skride’s immediate gift for lyricism. The orchestra was always balanced in their support of Skride, who appeared impervious to the technical demands and provided a heartfelt, honest and arresting melodic sound.
Even in the Scherzo, Skride made the virtuosic demands look alarmingly simple. While the lighter, more mischievous sections were of full-bodied character, I felt the contrasting grotesque, arrogant inner-sections could have been more forceful and rebellious in their rough sound.
Like fond memories of grandfather clocks and locomotives, the opening of the third movement had a mixture of steady movement and tender melodies, gradually surrendering to its longing as the piece progressed. This once again allowed Skride’s lyrical abilities to flourish, with every few bars felt like a fresh injection of affection. An impressive and moving performance.
After interval, Skride re-entered to perform Tzigane; an odd, pastiche middle-ground between Hungarian influences and Ravel’s natural style. It was scorching, freely and honestly passionate at times; and at others opaque washes of colour. Though the Hungarian double dotted rhythm lacking vigour at times, the performance of this stylistically bilingual work was convincing. Skride continued to surmount the technical difficulties with considerable ease even through some sluggish tempo changes from the orchestra producing an increasingly convincing and natural sounding folky, fiddle sound – as if hinting at the Dvorak to come.
The final item was a selection of Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances, Op. 46. No. 1 was rhythmically crisp and brash, and No. 2 was delivered with a delicate and warm melancholy. The conversational elements of the iconic No. 7 were pleasingly knitted together even as it gathered momentum.
Of friendly and charming temperament, Letonja added into No. 1 a humorous touch as if to say: ‘How do you do?’; a gesture which extracted contrasting gentility from the orchestra – though some of the brass lines got lost in this piece. The last item was No. 8, delivering appealing orchestral colour in a grand and brash display full of celebration and skillful conversational dialogue. The encore item of Op. 72, No. 7 was in a similar vein. The percussion section was outstanding throughout particularly in the final two dances.
I’m personally less inclined to enjoy the folk-influenced side of classical music, so I felt emotionally undernourished by this very folk-heavy program. The whole program barely spanned half a century, and more historical breadth in the program may have given the folk theme more mileage. This predominately miniaturist concert was entertaining but never emphatically so.
Image supplied. Credit: Marco Borggreve.
