In the Dark

Yesterday evening I made my way through a rather rainy Dublin to the National Concert Hall for a very enjoyable concert by the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland conducted this time by André de Ridder. Incidentally, the Orchestra has been searching for a new Principal Conductor for some time and as now made an appointment in the form of Alexander Shelley, but he won’t take up the baton until September 2026 so until then there will continue to be a number of guest conductors and, it has to be said, a rather piecemeal programme.

Last night’s performance followed a very typical programme for a concert of classical music: a short piece as an appetiser (often an overture or similar), an instrumental concerto featuring a guest soloist, then a wine break, followed by a full symphony or some other large work. They don’t all follow that format, but many do. I always like it when at least one of the pieces is something I’ve never heard before. That was the case last night.

We started with the orchestral version of Pavane pour une infante défunte, played very well but, as always seems to be the case, rather too slowly for my tastes. That particular piece was on the menu at NCH in March this year and I made the same complaint then. I like the piece a lot, but I wish orchestras wouldn’t take it at a funeral pace!

Next one up was the world premiere of a brand new composition by Bryce Dessner called Trembling Earth. This is a cello concerto and it was written for Russian cellist Anastasia Kobekina. One never knows what to expect from a world premiere but this turned out to tremendous. It’s not a cello concerto of the traditional style – divided into movements – but is in a series of sections, with the cello introducing each theme which is then taken up by the orchestra followed by another, and so on. The texture varies from tough and sinewy to soft and lyrical and the solo passages require great virtuosity, some thing Anastasia Kobekina definitely has.

The composition was apparently inspired by a set of landscapes by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, so I suppose each section might relate to a particular painting. The sections are very varied, with one based on the theme of Dido’s Lament (When I am laid in Earth...) by Henry Purcell, another with very distinct echoes of Ravel, and another showing more than a nod to Philip Glass in its ostinato sections. At the end of the piece, which is about 25 minutes long, there were immediate cheers and a standing ovation, and the composer came on stage to receive the accolades. “Prediction is very difficult”, said Niels Bohr, “especially about the future”, but I think this work will quickly establish itself in the repertoire. I’d love to hear it again.

The concert would have been worth it just for that one piece, but after the interval we came back for the main course, The Symphony No. 3 in E♭ major (“Eroica”)  Ludwig van Beethoven. I’ve blogged about a number of different performances of different Beethoven symphonies over the years, so I’m quite surprised to discover that I’ve never written about this one. It’s hard to know what to say about it really,, except that it’s a magnificent work in its own right as well as being historically important. Before this one, which was published in 1806, symphonies (including not only Beethoven’s First and Second, but those of Mozart, Haydn and others) were much shorter (typically around 20 minutes) and much more constrained in form. This composition – which shares some elements with Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 and was apparently inspired by it – ushered in the era of the epic symphony that culminated with the likes of Mahler and Bruckner. The duration performance we heard last night was about 45 minutes. The first movement, in sonata form, is especially complex.

An interesting point about last night’s performance was the arrangement of the orchestra on stage. From the point of view of the Conductor, the first violins were on the far left (as usual), the cellos and basses were to the front and left, violas to the front and right, and second violins on the far right. I am not sure of the reason for this departure from tradition – second violins are usually adjacent to the firsts, with the cellos and basses on the right – but it was interesting how different it sounded compared to the usual layout.

This superb concert provided a great finish to a very tiring week. Thanks to the NCH for putting on such a wonderful programme. As an added bonus, the rain had stopped by the time it was over so I didn’t get drenched on my way home.