Brahms Double Concerto
St Mary’s Parish Church, Haddington 11/9/25
Royal Northern Sinfonia; Dinis Sousa (conductor); Maria Wloszczowska (violin); Laura van der Heijden (cello).
The Royal Northern Sinfonia, under their Music Director Dinis Sousa, brought a “basket of goodies” programme to this year’s Lammermuir Festival, presenting it on the night of 11th September in St Mary’s Parish Church, Haddington. The headline act was Brahms’ delicious Double Concerto, with violinist Maria Wloszczowska and cellist (and artist-in-residence of this year’s Festival) Laura van der Heijden as soloists. Mozart’s Overture to ‘Don Giovanni’, in the concert version, opened. After the interval, the single work was Mendelssohn’s evergreen Symphony No 4 in A major Op 90, the 'Italian' Synphony.
The Don is not a savoury character. Indeed, within a few minutes of Act I, he is revealed as a faithless seducer and a murderer and the opera is about how he meets his comeuppance, So the beginning of the overture leaves us in no doubt: this is an evil man. But then, with that box ticked, the rest of the overture is pretty jolly, picaresque maybe, but without a hint of disapproval. It’s almost as though Mozart has a sneaking admiration for the bad boy. And, dare I say, don’t we all? The Don Giovanni Overture is a guilty pleasure and it was served up as such with more than a hint of mischief. An appreciative shout out from me for the proper concert ending rather than the operatic version, petering out to segue into Act I. Thoroughly marvellous.
Brahms Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor Op 102 has been a firm favourite since falling for the Isaac Stern / Leonard Rose / NYPO / Bruno Walter EP in my youth. I think I’ve heard what was Brahms’ last major orchestral work live once before, but so long ago that I can’t remember any details, so perhaps it never happened. Maria Wloszczowska’s Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Tetzlaff cadenza and the same orchestra at the 2023 Lammermuir Festival is, on the other hand, a vivid and happy memory, as is hearing Laura van der Heijden in Glasgow with the Saint-Saëns First Concerto a few years ago. The first movement of the Brahms Double played out like the start of a friendship. A stern orchestral statement of the first theme was interrupted by a forlorn soliloquy recitative from Laura (with fabulous tone) and the winds introduced the consolatory second theme in the major, When Maria finally entered, their dialogue was cautious at first, but very soon they were getting on like a house on fire, in rich harmony and easy dialogue. The rest of the movement was an adventure with the two “partners-in-crime” taking no nonsense from the orchestra. The slow movement was an almost continuous operatic love duet between the soloists,.in the major. The ‘almost’ refers to a few grumpy outbursts from the cello, calmly assuaged by the violin, whereupon the love duet returned with even greater tenderness. The finale was a gleeful Hungarian dance with some characterful episodes, some adventurous, some more romantic, and a big finish in the major. A top-drawer performance of a ‘feel-good’ piece of glorious late Brahms. Fabulous sympathetic playing from two gifted string soloists and an orchestra on top form, with flawless dynamic balance. Just what the doctor ordered.
I recall an episode of Desert Island Discs in which Harold Wilson identified Mendelssohn’s ‘Italian’ symphony as his go-to piece for elevating his mood when the pressures of political life became unbearable. And indeed, I could see then and still see now where he was coming from on that one. I can be less indulgent with two features of how the performance began. Firstly, while the audience was still applauding his arrival to the podium, Dinis Sousa swung round and launched into the first movement. Why? Whose enjoyment could possibly be served by missing the first bar? Secondly, the tempo was blisteringly fast and driven, so that the rapid staccato forte quavers in the winds, with St Mary’s very live acoustic, became a blur. This was a pity. And, looking back at my review of the same orchestra and conductor from two years ago at the same venue, I notice specific mention of playing to the acoustic. It was less of a problem when the dynamic was quieter or the winds weren’t chattering, like in the gorgeous string fugato in the development or (my favourite bit) when the oboe holds a long high A while the development winds down mysteriously in the strings, which was exquisite. The wind writing is more legato in the recapitulation, so it was also clearer. The ‘pilgrim procession’ second movement honoured the ‘con moto’ marking to perfection. It was lyrical and elegiac, with nobility and stoicism – couldn’t ask for better. I always feel that there is a certain world-weariness in the leisurely third movement, not entirely dispelled by the more active central section with its lovely horn calls and some rather stern disapproving comments from the strings. I felt that it got an elegant and persuasive reading. The Saltarello roared into action and set off at a thrilling clip. It was at its best in the bits at lower volume, but the acoustic did unfortunately mar the articulation at the loudest, fastest and most furious bits. St Mary’s is a visually beautiful venue, but for certain repertoire, ensemble size and placement combinations it presents aural acoustic challenges. For the Mendelssohn on this occasion, it was unfortunately one such combination.
On the bright side, the Brahms was superb and a major highlight of this year’s festival.