Schumann and Mozart
Queen’s Hall 13/11/25
Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Anthony Marwood violin/director
A decent-sized audience valiantly makes its way through a sodden November afternoon for the first matinee of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s season, violinist Anthony Marwood playing and directing a programme in which two violin concertos by Mozart and Schumann get the star billing. These matinee concerts which are part of the main season were first introduced three years ago and have gradually become more popular, and it was good to see a school party in attendance today. After the sell-out concert for the Brandenburg Concertos Matinee last January, the SCO has taken the decision to programme this year’s three matinees over the winter months, with former SCO bassoonist Peter Whelan conducting a Mozart programme on December 18th with Tara Erraught, the amazing Vitellia in the SCO’s ‘La Clemenza di Tito’ at the Festival, and violinist Lorenzon Borrani playing and directing works by Haydn and Schubert on January 15th.
This afternoon’s concert begins with an earlier Schumann work, the Overture, Scherzo and Finale. Lasting around 20 minutes, it was submitted by the composer to his publishers in 1841 as Symphony No 2, but it was turned down because it lacked a slow movement – and the resulting awkward title may have led to its lack of popularity. The opening dialogue between the upper and lower strings soon gives way to a stirring theme for the full orchestra, including timpani. In quieter moments there are opportunities for brief individual contributions from clarinets and horns, till eventually the movement gathers momentum towards its bright conclusion. An audience might well look for a slow movement at this point, as the second movement Scherzo is equally as busy, only slowing down for a melodic section in the winds including hunting horn flourishes and repeating the effect as the movement reaches a light and charming end. The third movement is marked presto, and it provides a breathtaking finale, with an unexpected anthem.
Anthony Marwood directs this first work from the leader’s chair. Now he stands centre stage, facing the audience most of the time and turning as required to direct the orchestra. Of the winds only the two horns and two oboes are left, providing a baroque-sized force to accompany Anthony Marwoood’s 18th century violin. The SCO’s string section is always good, but Mozart’s Violin Concerto No 1 in B Major finds them at their best, with a thrilling energy in the opening and closing movements and, taking their cue from Marwood, a warm unhurried approach in the slow movement, in which the harmonies, especially between the soloist and the cellos, and the delicate balancing of rhythms -the syncopated solo line and the light accompaniment from the other violins. Marwood’s approach in the first two movements seems almost anti-virtuosic, the feeling that ‘less is more’ also applying to the apparent simplicity of the cadenzas. The third movement is different - there’s an abundance of flourishes, rapid scales by the soloist echoed in the other strings, and arpeggios, trills and other ornaments throughout the movement. A gorgeous performance by Antony Marwood and the orchestra.
Lost and rediscovered works of art always have a certain mystery and glamour attached to them. And partly depending on their date or rarity value they hold the possibility of changing the established ‘canon’ of works. For example my enjoyment of Medieval English literature was much enhanced by the 19th century discovery of the tiny manuscript containing the anonymous poem ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.’
Schumann’s last work, his Violin Concerto, written in 1853 only came to light and had its first performance in 1937. For the full story of the decision taken by his wife and friends to prevent it from being played, and the weird story of its rediscovery, see David Kettle’s informative programme note. The concerto still hasn’t found its way into the established canon of violin concertos and has relatively few performances - which makes me query the decision of the SCO to programme it today for the second time in eight months. (It was also played by the Scottish Symphony Orchestra recently). Major musical works regularly have coincidental performances (I could have seen three ‘La Bohemes’ within 10 days, Opera North’s in Newcastle, Live From the Met at the cinema and Scottish Opera’s in Edinburgh). But is Schumann’s Violin Concerto a major work?
Anthony Marwood is clearly a champion of it (as Isabelle van Keulen was last March). After the interval the full orchestra take the stage but only a reduced string section plays Handel’s short overture to ‘Agrippina’ in convincing early baroque style. After a brief pause, the whole ensemble plunges into the Schumann, the dynamic first theme alternating with a more lyrical section for strings and woodwinds. The contrasts between the two themes and their different demands on the soloist are at first interesting, but for me the work seems to lack direction, and fails to make the most of its orchestral forces. However in a work with no cadenzas, Anthony Marwood succeeds in putting his individual stamp particularly in the passages where he plays with strings a woodwinds. There are distinctive moments for the horns, and the flutes add delightful sparkle to the Polonaise, the third and best movement. But otherwise the orchestral sound is often dense, lacking the transparency and individual detail which add to the dynamics of performances of 19th century music. The performance are justifiably applauded but not with the enthusiasm which greeted the Mozart, whose slow movement was the afternoon’s highlight.
These are personal comments, and leaving the hall, I overhear someone giving a view of the two violin concertos which is completely the opposite to mine! By the next SCO concert, we will have started the Christmas season with Maxim Emelyanychev conducting Berlioz’s choral work ‘L’Enfance du Christ’ with the SCO Chorus and soloists Roderick Williams, Paula Murrihy and Andrew Staples in the Usher Hall on Thursday 27th November.
