Haydn’s good nature brought tears to the eyes; it could hardly have done so without such excellence of performance.
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This was a demanding programme, The London Symphony Orchestra’s achievement of going from micro-managed Ligeti to deeply complex Bartók, and then straight into lean, vibrato-less Haydn cannot be underestimated. And furthermore, there are individual musicians in this orchestra who will invariably produce their moments of jaw-dropping magic, such as bone-shakingly violent harp glissandi from Bryn Lewis in the Bartók.
Noseda drove the first movement hard, setting a pace for the string fugue that would undo a lesser orchestra [...].
***** The exceptional qualities lay instead in the effortless way he glued together its disparate parts while bravely conducting from a miniature score, and the LSO’s extraordinary finesse.
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Clarity, decisiveness, expertise at all levels were the watchwords, and the andante cantabile horn solo, so exposed and crucial, came across beautifully in the hands of Guglielmo Pellarin.
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It is a work of high extremes, from the thundering tread of men “marching to the gates of death” to the circling rooks that know the yearning of the soul.
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Expressively immediate and with unreserved passion, Noseda’s personality lies also in his ability to bring an orchestra together into a singular force, obliging the audience to a show of contrasts and forward thrust... Thus as Noseda dug into Kodály’s Dances of Galánta in his characteristically string-heavy style, not only the rustic and rhythmic qualities, but also elements of melancholy (according to Bartók, Kodály’s music “strives for inner contemplation”) and fun were immaculately shaped. While the woodwinds too were songful and present, Andrew Marriner’s poignant clarinet was memorable, evoking something of an autumnal sunset in this early November’s approach to winter.
The sight of the eighty or so members of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain crowding around the London Symphony Orchestra and beneath the London Symphony Chorus on the Barbican Hall stage was both tremendous and somewhat troubling. After all, many of these young musicians are little younger than Sorley himself and the millions of others who died in the conflict.
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Philippe Jordan seemed to relish, as well he should, this Rolls-Royce of an instrument with which to play.
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Soloists throughout were outstanding, as was Noseda’s deft negotiation of mood and tempo changes that shaped a cogent and spellbinding performance.
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Listening to the London Symphony Orchestra play John Williams’ music live is nothing short of a privilege. A joyous and emotional experience celebrating the work of quite possibly the greatest living composer in the world today.
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Everyone deserves a mention but the critical contributions of Rachel Gough on bassoon and Christine Pendrill (cor anglais) were notable, as was the mercurial playing of the lower strings and harp – particularly in those strange sections pitting unusual instrument combinations against the mechanical woodblock, castanets and side drum. Exhausting, unsettling and exhilarating.
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The programme represented a collection of greatest hits designed to show Williams’s ability to create stirring epic themes and big open-hearted melodies. Brossé showed both his mettle and his taste and the LSO played with finesse as well as passion.
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