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Reviews: Royal Scottish National Orchestra
The Scotsman - United Kingdom
Feb 21, 2005
KENNETH WALTON
Music: ROYAL SCOTTISH NATIONAL ORCHESTRA *** USHER HALL, EDINBURGH
HOW many times do we hear such a popular mix of Berlioz, Mendelssohn
and Rachmaninov tossed off by the RSNO with undue disinterest and
careless impatience? Thankfully, to the delight of the sizeable Usher
Hall crowd, this performance was anything but routine. The reason?
Jack van Steen, the Dutch-born chief conductor of Weimar National
Theatre, in a hugely impressive debut, exerted his infectious energy
and enthusiasm from start to finish.
Everything about him exuded confidence and authority, and the RSNO
responded unquestioningly. The opening flourish of Berlioz's Carnival
Romain rang out with the explosive impact of a bullet, matched as
effectively by the infinite subtleties which followed.
The temperature dropped marginally in Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto -
a performance by the young Armenian violinist, Haik Kazazyan, which
made up in finesse and sheer eloquence what it lacked in power and
projection.
Any unease disappeared instantaneously in Rachmaninov's Second
Symphony. Warmth and passion coloured every bar of this heaving
monster, which van Steen tamed with immaculate care and attention.
The Scotsman - United Kingdom
Feb 21, 2005
KENNETH WALTON
Music: ROYAL SCOTTISH NATIONAL ORCHESTRA *** USHER HALL, EDINBURGH
HOW many times do we hear such a popular mix of Berlioz, Mendelssohn
and Rachmaninov tossed off by the RSNO with undue disinterest and
careless impatience? Thankfully, to the delight of the sizeable Usher
Hall crowd, this performance was anything but routine. The reason?
Jack van Steen, the Dutch-born chief conductor of Weimar National
Theatre, in a hugely impressive debut, exerted his infectious energy
and enthusiasm from start to finish.
Everything about him exuded confidence and authority, and the RSNO
responded unquestioningly. The opening flourish of Berlioz's Carnival
Romain rang out with the explosive impact of a bullet, matched as
effectively by the infinite subtleties which followed.
The temperature dropped marginally in Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto -
a performance by the young Armenian violinist, Haik Kazazyan, which
made up in finesse and sheer eloquence what it lacked in power and
projection.
Any unease disappeared instantaneously in Rachmaninov's Second
Symphony. Warmth and passion coloured every bar of this heaving
monster, which van Steen tamed with immaculate care and attention.