RSNO, Bassem Akiki & Philippe Quint, Edinburgh review: 'gut-wrenching'
Lera Auerbach’s quirky new violin concerto was perfect for Halloween, writes Susan Nickalls
Royal Scottish National Orchestra – Shostakovich Seven, Usher Hall, Edinburgh ★★★★
There were plenty of treats, a few tricks and some restless spirits for good measure in this concert from the RSNO and conductor Bassem Akiki, just in time for Halloween. Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man is a perfect concert opener and with the brass section stretched in a single line across the organ gallery, it was a magnificent sight as well as sound. Commissioned as an introduction to concerts during the Second World War to boost morale, this fanfare was unveiled in 1943 at “income tax time”.
Philippe Quint’s UK premiere of Lera Auerbach’s Violin Concerto No. 1 suited the spooky dynamic although the only tax applicable might be for “fun”. Her quirky, distinctive style was ripe for Halloween hijinks, with Quint and orchestra indulging in a demonic game of high-speed tag in the opening movement. Auerbach’s music has an engaging cinematic vibrancy that continues the Russian tradition but in her own distinctive and uncompromising style. In the slightly unhinged waltz that followed, Quint’s lyrical lines were stalked by a wailing musical saw and the prayer-like Andante Religioso took the music to even darker places. Quint was in his element for the finale bristling with frenzied double-stopping and pizzicato madness as the naughty toys came out to play.
Shostakovich’s 70-minute journey, the extraordinary Symphony No 7 (Leningrad), is a feat of endurance for conductor, orchestra and the audience. Given the work’s history, written as the Germans were at the gates of the city, one can almost feel the presence of ghosts, especially in the lengthy first movement where the faint whisper from the snare drum sets the pulse that builds up sections and instruments over 30 gripping minutes into a raging climax. Despite the occasional lapse of momentum, Akiki and the orchestra captured the emotional, gut-wrenching essence of the piece.
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