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Royal Theatre
April 1, 2007
"Very little tradition lies behind The Rite of Spring and no theory. I had only my ears to help me; I heard and I wrote what I heard. I am the vessel through which The Rite passed."
Viewed in the light of more recent scholarship, which suggests that there is rather more of Mother Russia in The Rite in the form of folk melodies, Stravinsky's comment seems a little disingenuous.
It was not that many years ago that the idea of the Victoria Symphony tackling one of the 20th century's most notorious works was not one to contemplate with equanimity.
Things have changed, though, and so it was on Sunday afternoon that we finally heard the last of Stravinsky's great trilogy of pre-war ballet scores performed with tremendous energy and commendable accuracy.
I had not heard Jonathan McPhee's reduction before and, although there were a few moments when the texture felt somehow, inexplicably wrong, for the most part it worked remarkably well.
As, indeed, did Tania Miller's direction of the score. One could quibble with minor details - was The Dance of the Adolescents perhaps not just a tad fast for the accents to make their full effect? was the opening of part two not a trifle overloud? - but the overall impression was the appropriate one of a raw, primitive power unleashed.
Even with the reduced orchestra, there were still not enough strings to be heard against the full brass ensemble (and the same also applied occasionally to the wind) but overall balances were good and few of the important details of Stravinsky's score were lost in the mixture.
Both collectively and individually (too many superb solos to name, alas) the Victoria Symphony played very well indeed and, while there was a good deal of visible counting going on, the look of sheer, unremitting terror which one imagines would have populated the faces of the orchestra a decade ago, was entirely absent.
As the audience was beginning to file out, I heard one young man a couple of rows behind ask: "did you ever hear anything so deafeningly loud?"
Yes, but not in the Royal Theatre. A good close to the series.
The tempting witticism would be to say that I did not recognise the music played before the interval.
That, of course, would not be true (I can, after all, read the programme); but what I can say is that the two "halves" of Beethoven's "Eroica" seemed to come from different performances entirely.
After a promising start (the two opening chords reinforced by more-than-usually solid timpani) the opening movement rapidly lost its way. Miller's tempos tended to speed up when the music got louder and slow down when it got softer. Which led to slackness in both the second subject and the opening of the development.
And I suppose there's little point in complaining once again about the corrupt trumpet parts in the coda?
Similarly, despite some most gratifyingly full sonorities, the funeral march staggered about aimlessly (no march, this) and rarely have I heard such a sluggish fugue.
For the final two movement Miller seemed to replaced her evil twin and breathe some life into the performance. Strings and winds were crisp and the horns in the famous trio were very good.
The finale, too, was a distinct improvement, with well-chosen tempos for the most part, although the first fugato tended to drag - I could hear my Inner Mahler shouting "nicht schleppend!" to no avail. More attention to Beethoven's carefully graduated hairpin dynamics towards the end of the movement would also have reaped benefits. The final coda, though, provided a rousing close.
I was never convinced of the wisdom of presenting two such significant works in one programme; it seemed inevitable that one of the two would suffer.
And now we know which one.
However, having said all that, you might have to wait a long time for the next opportunity to hear The Rite of Spring live in Victoria, so if you weren't at Sunday's concert, do yourself a favour and attend tonight's repeat at 8 p.m.
You may even enjoy the Beethoven more than I did.
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