It was an evening of
music-making of a high order, the sort we have come to expect (and rely on)
when Boico brings his energy to bear on a programme. (Review by David Smith)
KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra
World Symphony Series, Winter Season, Concert 1 (11 June
2026)
The Playhouse Opera
These wholly pleasurable – indeed treasurable - symphonic
encounters continue in brief spurts, and allow us, the listeners, to put aside
for a while the grim reality of orchestral exploits versus financial
constraints. With Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, which has become something of a
local calling-card, orchestra and conductor threw down the gauntlet once again.
The sombre opening chords were a muscular announcement that matters were
serious; and the ensuing Allegro, full of pulsating dynamism, reflected the
exhilaration of the players at the prospect of taking up the fight again.
With the rallying to the flag and the war-cry out of the way, the concert took on a very different cast. The violinist Elvin Ganiyev joined Daniel Boico (on the podium for the evening) and the ensemble to navigate the Dvořák violin concerto.
Despite its fair share of technical complexity in the solo part, the work is decidedly not a contest between a virtuoso soloist and hefty orchestral forces, a concept that, though often repeated, actually has rather limited application in the concerto genre. Only in the wild rhythms of the dancing finale (a stylised furiant) are there hints of assertion by turns. In Dvořák’s telling of it, the voice of the violin is fundamentally a very long cord of sound on which the work is threaded, and from which the diverse orchestral fabric is suspended.
The near-continuous playing that this implies invites the soloist to vary and colour the music, and this Ganiyev did with noticeable intensity, such that he was audible in all details all the time. Some corners held surprises that Boico and the orchestra negotiated adroitly and with sustained warmth of tone that made especially the middle movement (Adagio ma non troppo) a sumptuous pillow under the cantilena of the violin. If there was any sense that Ganiyev chafed at the beatific expansion of this slow movement, he was able to transform that in his generous encore: Ysaÿe’s solo sonata no. 3, a welcome legacy of the soloist’s 2024 recording of all six of the Ysaÿe violin sonatas, and a pile-driving, breath-taking display.
Brahms’s third symphony followed the interval. A masterpiece of this stature was needed to complement the first half, and Boico’s reading was a very gratifying one. The outer movements, which are the more dramatic and ‘rugged’, suffered not at all from the size of the orchestra (a ‘chamber orchestra’ of 50), given the happily integrated string sound; and they were platforms for satisfying woodwind playing that had settled in. Flute and clarinet, along with the solo horn, were especially pleasing. The lyrical inner movements added easeful, euphonic layers to the unique appeal of the symphony, and resurfaced in the quiet flutters of the high strings at the very end.
It was an evening of music-making of a high order, the sort we have come to expect (and rely on) when Boico brings his energy to bear on a programme. Though only the core of the orchestra remains consistent through the passing months, the periodic aggregation of musicians for these ambitious endeavours continues to give delight to players and audience alike. - David Smith
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