Entertainment: Joe Fuller
Revolution and virtuoso musicianship from the London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic are putting on a brave concert of melodic modern music this Saturday, and here’s to hoping the hall will be packed. There is always a fear of smaller audience numbers when an orchestra omits the old greats from the bill but these thrilling composers are accessible, well known, and also really really good. There are £10 tickets available too so I cannot recommend this fantastic, entertaining internationally acclaimed orchestra and programme highly enough for a lovely Saturday night out.
Aram Khachaturian loved to create music “where virtuoso soloists can compete cheerfully with a full symphony orchestra”. For his violin concerto he was inspired by young Russian violinist David Oistrakh, who described the piece as “witty, full of melodic beauty and oriental colour”. The premiere saw Shostakovich and Prokofiev in the audience. The piece is an entertaining showcase, and you can hear Oistrakh himself perform the piece on YouTube to get a flavour for it. Kristóf Baráti will play violin on the night, who is renowned for a “buttery beauty of tone” by Fanfare, so the playing should sound sumptuous.
Macbeth from Richard Strauss is a tone-poem, a form I love since they are evocative, varied pieces that conjure images and impressions with soundscapes as opposed to following formal symphonic reasoning. We get turbulence and torment in Macbeth himself and sexy, alluring power illustrating Lady Macbeth. The ending is brutal and tragic, truly invoking the spirit of the Bard.
If there is one totemic figure of 20th century music that both critics and the public can get behind, it is Stravinsky. The divergence of popular taste, revolution and innovations is fascinating (I’m reading ‘The Rest Is Noise’ at the moment which is an eloquent, enthralling read) but I love it when the three can meet. Consider Stravinsky then The Beatles or the Radiohead of classical music.
The Firebird is a beautiful piece with sadness, light, striking orchestral effects, and plenty of stunning moments. The LPO will play a concert suite that features parts of the ballet and still follows the story and emotional drive of the full original piece. ‘The Infernal Dance of King Kashchei and his Subjects’ for example is broodingly ominous, whereas the Lullaby is a slower, more emotional movement featuring languid woodwind and hypnotic strings. This leads into a glorious brassy finale. It’s epic, exciting stuff and I can’t wait.
Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, Saturday 27 February, 7.30pm, £10-£32.50, 01273 709709 and www.brightondome.org
