Elisabeth Leonskaja/BBCSO/Jiri Belohlávek
Classical music is so crowded with anniversaries just now that it sometimes feels as if the arbitrary turning of the years constitutes the sole criterion of cultural relevance. Take this concert: the culmination of Jirí Belohlávek's quinquagenarial Martinu symphony cycle contrived to take in the bicentenary of Schumann's birth, and even managed a nod at that of Chopin thanks to an encore from the soloist. But it doesn't stop there. Martinu's Fantaisies Symphoniques – often referred to as his sixth symphony – were originally composed for the 75th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, while the opening work, Tippett's Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli, was a tribute to Arcangelo Corelli on his 300th birthday.
With so many different things to celebrate, it's a good thing the music-making was chief among them. Belohlávek's study of his compatriot's symphonies has been one of the season's revelations, shedding considered light on one of the 20th century's most approachable and underappreciated figures. The difficulty with the Fantaisies lies in maintaining the spontaneity – in the rhapsodic melodising, the freeform structures and the beautifully choreographed shifts of timbre – without losing the drive. Conducting from memory, Belohlávek and his orchestra had clearly worked on this piece from the inside out, generating an extraordinary clarity of texture and gesture that left one feeling exhilarated, yet with a curious state of lucid bewilderment.
The Georgian pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja was the soloist in Schumann's piano concerto. She is a powerful figure who seems to massage each phrase, but can also produce the most delicately latticed figurations. The key here was in her relationship with Belohlávek's orchestra – and particularly Cho-Yu Mo's wonderfully soft-edged clarinet – which worked with her all the way. As for the Tippett: a fascinating score, marvellously played. Why is so little of his music aired just now? Ah yes: dates.
With so many different things to celebrate, it's a good thing the music-making was chief among them. Belohlávek's study of his compatriot's symphonies has been one of the season's revelations, shedding considered light on one of the 20th century's most approachable and underappreciated figures. The difficulty with the Fantaisies lies in maintaining the spontaneity – in the rhapsodic melodising, the freeform structures and the beautifully choreographed shifts of timbre – without losing the drive. Conducting from memory, Belohlávek and his orchestra had clearly worked on this piece from the inside out, generating an extraordinary clarity of texture and gesture that left one feeling exhilarated, yet with a curious state of lucid bewilderment.
The Georgian pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja was the soloist in Schumann's piano concerto. She is a powerful figure who seems to massage each phrase, but can also produce the most delicately latticed figurations. The key here was in her relationship with Belohlávek's orchestra – and particularly Cho-Yu Mo's wonderfully soft-edged clarinet – which worked with her all the way. As for the Tippett: a fascinating score, marvellously played. Why is so little of his music aired just now? Ah yes: dates.
