The foreseeable encore
turned out to be the familiar Gabriel’s Oboe from the score of The Mission by
Ennio Morricone. It added another delectable slow movement that simply
confirmed Smith as an exceptional votary of the oboe life. (Review by David
Smith)
The third Symphony Concert of the KZNPO Winter Season took
place in the Playhouse Opera Theatre on June 20, 2024.
For those undaunted by Durban’s chilly winter evenings, the current symphony season has had plenty of fine music-making to offer. The third in the series was conducted by Daniel Boico, a familiar presence here, and featured James Austin Smith, the American oboist, as soloist in the concerto by Richard Strauss, infrequently heard here. The framing works will be treated first.
Elgar’s Serenade for string orchestra, Opus 20, is one of three works that define this late 19th-century genre (the others are by Dvořák and Tchaikovsky): melodious and engaging suites, mostly free of symphonic ambitions, and in the case of Elgar’s, crafted with the intimacy of chamber music in mind. As a concert opener, it was a most appealing work by which to concentrate the attention of listeners. Its melodiousness and warmth are irresistible, and the second of the three movements is prophetic of the composer’s later slow movements, that breathe a profound yearning. All of this was well caught in the ensemble’s delicately wrought execution, the score’s details being finely observed. The charm of its transparency made it a delightful prelude.
Boico’s leadership was much more obvious in the work played after intermission, Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, K. 551, nicknamed the “Jupiter”. Indeed, a look at the printed score shows that there are many marks of articulation to implement, as well as interpretative decisions to be taken in realising the character of each of the four movements. By making a sharp distinction of antecedent and answering phrases at the very outset (even in regard to tempo), Boico signalled that he was shaking the dust off a creation that can suffer from a comfortable, ‘old school’ approach.
Thus, in the first movement he sought an amalgam of the brilliantly martial and elegantly tender ideas of which it is compounded. The following Andante cantabile, which alternates songlike expansiveness and dramatically taut passages, made a strong impression, though soft tone in the upper strings sometimes lacked presence.
Boico’s account of the Menuetto, which is relatively straightforward, seemed, oddly, less convincing than the other movements. But in the Finale, he drove the orchestra through a high-paced account of its contrapuntal complexities to bring the concert to an exhilarating close.
Between the Elgar and the Mozart, we were treated to a top-notch account of the Strauss concerto of 1945, a work from his final years far removed from the rarefied worlds of the Metamorphosen (1945) and the Four Last Songs (1948). While the first movement especially relies heavily on extended rapid figuration, both in the solo part and the small orchestra, James Austin Smith, gave an exemplary account of the music as a lyrical invention, reminiscent of the world of Strauss’s operas. Aided by his instrument’s rich tone, he negotiated the considerable technical rapids with enviable ease, and initiated a raptness of attention in his audience that persisted throughout his performance. The sunniest side of the work, the closing Vivace, communicated great brio (along with some hints of earlier Strauss works), and, like the other movements, inspired the conductor and orchestra to a most satisfying collaboration.
Tickets available at Quicket. For more information, click on
the KZNPO advert to the top right of this page. The next – and final – concert of
this season takes place on June 27, 2024.
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