City Halls, Glasgow
Through the good offices of a foundation established by a Norwegian savings bank which holds a collection of musical instruments, Amalie Stalheim plays a cello made in the 18th century which once belonged to Mstislav Rostropovich. It is in very good hands.
Rostropovich made several celebrated recordings of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, so it is likely that this cello features on at least one of them. Although the repertoire for cello soloists is hardly large enough to do without it, the work is probably less in favour these days.
It sat very well at the heart of this programme of works that all clearly looked back to earlier music, however, conducted by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor Andrew Manze. In Tchaikovsky’s case, it was to Mozart in particular, and Stalheim’s fine, disciplined account of that piece was followed by his Serenade for Strings, a homage that has also fallen from fashion.
As in the approach of both soloist and conductor to the Variations, Manze brought the sort of crisp approach to the Serenade that he brings to Mozart’s music itself. The second movement waltz remains instantly recognisable and both it and the Elegie that follows were played with just the right level of romantic sentiment.
That second half of the concert followed a first half of much less well-known music, which nonetheless shared significant ingredients. It is likely that Lars-Erik Larsson’s Lyric Fantasy was pretty much core repertoire for Manze during his years working in Sweden, where the composer is a key figure. It dates from 1966 but sounds earlier, a chamber ensemble pastorale with single winds working as a quintet alongside two dozen strings.
Whether or not Larsson intended it – and his actual inspiration was likely half a century later – it did find a mirror in the Tchaikovsky Serenade.
The Cello Concerto that preceded the interval was by Anders Hillborg, arguably Sweden’s greatest living composer, whose viola concerto, composed just a year later, was played by the SCO and Manze for Nordic Music Days two years ago.
The Cello Concerto is a beautifully structured work, full of virtuoso material for Stalheim across the full range of her instrument, but also plenty of interest in the orchestral part with the strings sounding like a Renaissance choir at the start and finish of the piece. Alongside that lyrical music there are percussive explosions from piano and percussion (tubular bells, gong, and timpani) and ear-catching glissando drops in pitch.
With the SCO’s principal cello Philip Higham a crucial duet partner for the soloist, the work’s elements required careful balancing by Manze, clearly keeping the level in check for the glorious swell of sound at the end.
Keith Bruce