BBC SSO and Ryan Wigglesworth, Glasgow review: 'emotionally absorbing'
This powerful performance of Alexander von Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony proved to be one of the highlights of conductor Ryan Wigglesworth’s spell with the SSO, writes Ken Walton
BBC SSO and Ryan Wigglesworth, City Halls, Glasgow ★★★★
A common feature in this year’s orchestral season openers has been the symphonic blockbuster. For the RSNO it was Mahler 6; for the SCO, Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique; and finally on Thursday for the BBC SSO, the rarity that is Alexander von Zemlinsky’s intoxicating 1920s Lyric Symphony. What transpired was one of the most powerfully calibrated and emotionally absorbing performances to come out of this orchestra’s partnership with Ryan Wigglesworth, now into his final season as chief conductor.
It’s a daunting work, written in response to Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, challenging not just for its massively dense orchestration, but for the hi-octane operatic qualities required of the soprano and baritone soloists in liberating its superheated sequence of songs. Seven uninterrupted settings of texts from Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore explore the polar extremes of delirious passion and reality check in a Tristanesque tale of Prince-meets-girl.
At the forefront of this performance was the towering duo of soprano Miah Persson and baritone James Atkinson, their charisma alone projecting the sung sentiments with shivering intensity and, where the music reduced to more mystical levels, a radiating sensuousness. This was no small challenge given the uncompromising ferocity of Zemlinsky’s score – a mode of expression straddling the gap between Mahler and the Second Viennese School (especially Berg) with no small echoes of Wagner – which Wigglesworth convincingly negotiated in a performance deserving of its place.
Previously we heard South Korean violinist Bomsori in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. It was an expectant moment, given her previously impressive SSO appearances, but this was not as fault-free. Supreme moments abounded, her trademark vibrancy and precision deliciously true to form, but these were countered by others in which her focus seemed to momentarily switch off. Her Kreisler encore, Schön Rosmarin, was a virtuosic reset.
The Scotsman’s arts newsletter is now sent twice a week - subscribe today
Enjoying the Arts & Culture journalism on scotsman.com? Make it easier to find by selecting us as a preferred Google source
Want the latest Scottish headlines sent directly to your phone? Sign up to our new WhatsApp channel here
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.