A bold concert with a mighty juggernaut
Keith Bruce
five stars
THE RSNO's Music Director Thomas Sondergard has form with Shostakovich, and especially the mighty juggernaut that is the composer's Symphony No 11, 'The Year 1905'. It was the work he conducted as a late replacement for Alexander Lazarev in 2009, beginning his relationship with the orchestra, and the one with which he made a significant impression on metropolitan critics conducting the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at the London Proms.
This concert boldly placed the work at the end of an all-Shostakovich programme that began with the exuberant Festive Overture of a few years previously, and featured the much chewier Cello Concerto No 2 of a decade later, with Daniel Muller-Schott the guest soloist.
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The RSNO was rewarded with a very well-filled auditorium for its season-closer, a result few might have predicted and which should give the management food for thought. Especially gratifying must surely have been the rapt concentration given to the concerto, composed for Rostropovich and much thornier than his first concerto for his illustrious countryman.
Muller-Schott brought the required powerful intensity to the work, his solo introductions to the movements absolutely compelling. It is a huge work for the cellist, but the details of his exchanges with the orchestra were just as memorable. The RSNO's horns and the percussion team were superb, and the classic combination of harp and flute later provided a moment of calm reassurance in an anxious piece.
Muller-Schott added a palate-cleansing encore of Bach to send the audience into the interval, but echoes of the opening of the concerto with the start of the symphony were still apparent after it. The RSNO strings on the platform were a mixture of well-known, recently returned and new faces but the sound was richly familiar and focused. The dynamic flexibility of the modern RSNO is not all of Sondergard's making, but he drives this orchestra with great skill and not a detail of the composer's score, in all its programmatic ambiguity, was left on the page.
If the opening overture's boisterous celebration of the October Revolution sounds uncharacteristically straightforward, everything that followed was less concerned with decoding the composer's vexed relationship with the Russian authorities than with making the best possible case for his music. As Lazarev has said, and Sondergard would surely agree, that is exactly as it should be.
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The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- The Herald Scotland
A bold concert with a mighty juggernaut
Keith Bruce five stars THE RSNO's Music Director Thomas Sondergard has form with Shostakovich, and especially the mighty juggernaut that is the composer's Symphony No 11, 'The Year 1905'. It was the work he conducted as a late replacement for Alexander Lazarev in 2009, beginning his relationship with the orchestra, and the one with which he made a significant impression on metropolitan critics conducting the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at the London Proms. This concert boldly placed the work at the end of an all-Shostakovich programme that began with the exuberant Festive Overture of a few years previously, and featured the much chewier Cello Concerto No 2 of a decade later, with Daniel Muller-Schott the guest soloist. Read More Review: Bruce Springsteen, Anfield, Liverpool Review, Lear, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh: 'a mesmerising depiction' Review: Nan Shepherd: Naked and Unashamed, Pitlochry Festival Theatre The RSNO was rewarded with a very well-filled auditorium for its season-closer, a result few might have predicted and which should give the management food for thought. Especially gratifying must surely have been the rapt concentration given to the concerto, composed for Rostropovich and much thornier than his first concerto for his illustrious countryman. Muller-Schott brought the required powerful intensity to the work, his solo introductions to the movements absolutely compelling. It is a huge work for the cellist, but the details of his exchanges with the orchestra were just as memorable. The RSNO's horns and the percussion team were superb, and the classic combination of harp and flute later provided a moment of calm reassurance in an anxious piece. Muller-Schott added a palate-cleansing encore of Bach to send the audience into the interval, but echoes of the opening of the concerto with the start of the symphony were still apparent after it. The RSNO strings on the platform were a mixture of well-known, recently returned and new faces but the sound was richly familiar and focused. The dynamic flexibility of the modern RSNO is not all of Sondergard's making, but he drives this orchestra with great skill and not a detail of the composer's score, in all its programmatic ambiguity, was left on the page. If the opening overture's boisterous celebration of the October Revolution sounds uncharacteristically straightforward, everything that followed was less concerned with decoding the composer's vexed relationship with the Russian authorities than with making the best possible case for his music. As Lazarev has said, and Sondergard would surely agree, that is exactly as it should be.
Glasgow Times
5 days ago
- Glasgow Times
New art display lighting up Glasgow Royal concert hall
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) has unveiled nine original artworks by Scottish illustrator Katie Smith in the Clyde Foyer of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. These colourful portraits, revealed on Saturday, May 31, are designed to capture the energy and character of the orchestra's musicians in the Glasgow artist's signature style. (Image: Supplied) Read more: Christmas classic to be screened with live orchestra in Glasgow this December Katie, a graduate of the Glasgow School of Art, said: "I loved challenging myself with the portraits of this talented group of RSNO musicians. "I wanted to mimic the personal style and notes from each musician and bring them to life in colour for each portrait. "It was an important part of the process getting to know each musician and I hope that all audiences of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall will be able to look at them and relate to their own experiences of live music." Katie is an established illustrator who has worked with global brands including BMW, Coca-Cola, and Nike. Her latest collaboration with the RSNO celebrates the connection between visual art and live music, and the creative talent within Scotland's artistic community. (Image: Supplied)In creating the portraits, Katie was given open access to rehearsals and concerts to observe the musicians in action. She aimed to reflect their individual personalities and the sense of movement found in live performances. The portraits feature eight RSNO musicians and the orchestra's music director, Thomas Søndergård. Among those depicted are assistant principal horn Alison Murray, principal cello Pei-Jee Ng, principal flute Katherine Bryan, principal timpani Paul Philbert, principal trumpet Christopher Hart, associate leader Lena Zeliszewska, principal trombone Dávur Juul Magnussen, and assistant principal double bass Michael Rae. (Image: Supplied) Read more: 'Queen of Rock 'N' Roll' announces celebratory Glasgow gig The project is supported by the RSNO's Chair Patron scheme, which enables individuals, trusts, and corporate organisations to build connections with orchestra members and support their work. The RSNO said that the installation reflects its commitment to supporting Scottish artists and creating opportunities for public art. Last year, the orchestra unveiled Anthem (A Portrait of Music), a triptych by Gerard M Burns also displayed at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. That work was inspired by the orchestra's rehearsals and performance of Britten's War Requiem during its 2022–23 season.
The Herald Scotland
30-05-2025
- The Herald Scotland
Review: a masterclass from Randall Goosby at Caird Hall in Dundee
Much of the work of violinist Randall Goosby as the RSNO's Artist in Residence this season has been behind the scenes, giving masterclasses for young string players and working with them on short pieces which will be showcased in Saturday's Glasgow concert of the penultimate week in the orchestra's season. An afternoon recital of chamber music from Goosby in the company of RSNO string players follows on Sunday. His run of concerts began in Dundee, as soloist on the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in the superb acoustic of the Caird Hall. The programme began with a beautifully detailed performance of Debussy's Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune, first flute Katherine Bryan opening the work deliciously sotto voce. Similarly, Goosby, for all his personal self-confidence, had a very tempered approach to the Mendelssohn, and the work was all the better for it. After a crisp account of the first movement cadenza, he and conductor Thomas Sondergard took the gorgeously melodic central Andante at a relatively brisk tempo, with superbly modulated trumpet-playing a highlight alongside rich ensemble string playing. Read more reviews from Keith Bruce: Coming after the Debussy dance-score, there was a light balletic feel to the lively finale, and Goosby followed it with a bluesy encore – likely from his debut solo album, Roots – that encapsulated the young violinist's engaging charm. A further compelling reason to be in the audience at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Saturday evening is the programme's second half symphony by US-based Russian polymath Lera Auerbach. A poet and concert-pianist as well as a composer, her Symphony No 1, Chimera, is almost 20 years old but this – surprisingly – was its UK premiere. Beyond argument symphonic in scale, it is a long way from traditional in structure, and also shares some DNA with the Debussy. Auerbach's inspiration came from fairytale and Greek myth, and the work is peopled with character-studies and constantly in a state of flux, with some very tuneful passages. Rain-stick and tubular bells feature among the percussion, and the distinctive addition of the theremin was immaculately played by Charlie Draper behind the first violins, and often scored as an addition to the strings. The symphony also provided some eloquent soloing opportunities across the orchestra, but particularly from orchestra leader Maya Iwabuchi.
