Sunlight and Shadow - May
Piano Concerto No 3 - Beethoven
Romeo and Juliet (excs.) - Prokofiev
The National Symphony Orchestra is about to begin a two-week tour of Germany, with conductor Kasper de Roo and pianist John O'Conor. Last Friday's concert at the National Concert Hall was encouraging, being in many ways the best of the several recent concerts that have featured music for the tour.
One Irish piece will be heard in Germany. Sunlight and Shadow by Frederick May (1911-85) is a short tone-poem which carries echoes of the more rugged sides of Vaughan Williams and Delius. This vivid music is well worth hearing, especially in such a keenly coloured performance. But even when it was written in 1955, it would have sounded conservative. Could we not have been represented by something more recent, and more radical?
The concert was strong on orchestral discipline, with good ensemble, balance and colour. Given these strengths, excerpts from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet came across strongly. There was a sizzling intensity to the end of "Tybalt's Death"; "The Child Juliet" scampered deftly; and the sombre colours of "Friar Lawrence" had a suitable gravitas. The impact of the performance was limited only by Kasper de Roo's over-tight rein on rhythm.
John O'Conor played Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor. (The tour also includes No. 4.) The performance was individualistic, eschewing the tempestuous - so often associated with C minor Beethoven - in favour of thoughtfulness and poise. The first movement's separated phrasing sounded a bit disconnected; but the last movement more than compensated, with plenty of responsive discourse between soloist and orchestra. The second movement, taken slowly and with unusual liberties of timing and dynamics, was as absorbing as it was provocative.
Goodwill was evident all round, in the commitment of the playing and in the tribute paid to the NSO's orchestra manager, Patrick McElwee, who appeared on the platform at the beginning of the second half. He is retiring after the tour. Kasper de Roo's spoken tribute to him, and the orchestra's heart-felt applause, helped give the evening a memorable feel-good factor.