Reviews ‘Global Greats’

Press, 11 September 1989, Page 8

Reviews ‘Global Greats’

“Global Greats”: A programme of favourite classics, presented by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra in association with Digital Equipment Corporation, Town Hall Auditorium, September 9, at 8 p.m. Reviewed by Paul Goodson. As an addition to the subscription series, this pops concert appeared to have paid off on several counts. Commercial sponsorship is an accepted and necessary commodity in any regional orchestra’s survival kit. By deliberately selecting — almost to the point of caricature — some of the most accessible items in the classical orchestra’s repertoire, both sponsors and players were assured of strong local support. Undoubtedly there were many people present who would not normally attend orchestral concerts. That is all to the good. Ears that thrilled to a Beethoven 5 may, in time, be wooed by a Bruckner 8; and who knows, the sentinment once raised, a Messiaen or even a Berg may come to raise more than a frisson of delight in the collective public breast. Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol has all the boldness and liberality of colour of a Gauguin canvas. Bolstered by deft clarinet solos and sharp contrasts between roistering passages and those of semi-improvisatory reflection, this openhearted display of orchestrated inebriation made a rousing concert opener. Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto needs no prefatory comments. Soloist Nikolai Evrov’s most pronounced idiosyncrasy lay' in applying some quite pronounced variations in tempo, particularly in the first movement. These liberties were not so wilful as to offend, and indeed offered welcome interest to a familiar score. YBut the orchestra caught out

rather too often, most noticeably in a final tussle at the great convergence of the B flat major theme at the end of the concerto.

All the bravura piano writing was cleanly and generally accurately dispatched. The cantabile melody of the Andantino needed more carrying power and lyricism, and the Prestissimo was scrambled to the point of unintelligibility. But force and concentration saw the work through to its knock-out climax. Cold showers all round. Sibelius’s Finlandia suffered (as did the Beethoven symphony) from shaky brass support. There is a tendency in a work as melodically memorable as this, to play to the high points at the expense of organic unity and continuity of line. Although the conductor, Theodore Kuchar, had. clearly worked hard with individual sections of the orchestra, the performance as a whole sounded fragmented.

Beethoven’s fifth symphony, like an old and trusted ally, clinched victory for an orchestra which was pushed hard by this programme. At times sections battled it out with some pounding of thematic statements that tripped over the sub-themes and masked inner detail. There was, however, a sense of inexorable momentum which culminated in a brazenly triumphant Finale. The conductor energised the players, who to their credit, turned in a committed performance which deserved the sustained applause at the end. I hope that this concert was a commercial success. Theodore Kuchar has considerable flair, and notwithstanding the number of new faces in the ranks, there was a unanimity and optimism of approach which augurs well for the remainder of the Season.