In 1969, in a dark room that smelled mostly, of stale cigarettes and musty papers, Michael Rowan, together with 15 or so other boys, waited for the arrival of the Music Master, Mr Phillips.
In the centre of the room a record player was balanced on some books, which were themselves stacked on a wooden chair. The Music Master arrived and began to explain the story of the Symphonie Fantastique before placing the needle on the vinyl and I became lost in the moment. I wonder if my 13-year-old self, would have ever believed that 50 plus years later, he would be sitting in the Royal Festival Hall, listening to the same piece, but this time without the crackles.
Back to 2025, where the evening began with the World Premier of ‘Sphinx’ written by British Composer David Sawyer, who was present at the concert. Sawyer explained that his inspiration had come from this mythical beast in the Greek, rather than the Egyptian form, that he had once seen in a picture and how he had considered the human head, (often a women) vertically erect moving left and right, up and down; the four legs and the rhythm of running; and finally, the wings giving flight.
The different sections of the orchestra at first heard quite bluntly, then changes, morphs and mixes together. At times sonorous and gentle and then abrupt and discordant this piece had a filmic quality, underscoring the drama. Not my favourite piece of the evening, as it was a little too discordant for my taste, but others in the audience were clearly enjoying it, and it is aways good to experience new things.
The second piece, Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto Op. 15 was breathtakingly good, soothing, brooding, and the soloist, Augustin Hadelich is described as one of the great violinists of our time. His playing, so beautiful at times made me well up, and according to the programme, he is renowned for his phenomenal technique, persuasive interpretations and ravishing tone, and based on this performance I wouldn’t argue with that.
If you get the opportunity to hear him, do whatever you must to get a ticket, you can thank me later. He plays a violin made in 1744 on loan from the Tarislo Trust, and you could see just how much he revered his instrument, and how he repays the compliment to the Tarislo Trust. The piece was hauntingly sorrowful, (hence the tears), deliciously soporific followed by a fast movement which was quite simply breathtaking.
At times Hadelich drew heartfelt notes from his violin that I have certainly never heard before. It was how I imagine the Pied Piper must have influenced the children of Hamlin, and at that point Hadelich’s audience would have followed him anywhere, hypnotised by the sound of his violin. At the end of his performance, much of the audience was on its feet and thunderous applause threatened to lift the roof.
Having been called back to the stage by his adoring fans, he performed a welcome encore. If you only take one thing from this review, it is to take any opportunity to hear Augustin Hadelich.
Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique was the first piece of classical music I ever heard. Described as the representation of an opium dream, where a young man faces rejection, and in his dream murders his beloved, later to be taken to his execution where he witnesses a Witches’ Sabbath. I don’t recall my music master going into such detail, but I do recall him asking us to imagine a man been taken to his execution, and the terrifying sight of Witches swirling overhead.
This was a performance in 3D, with notes of the flute soaring above the audience, a solo oboe playing from a box somewhere behind, and the haunting sound of bells ringing out. The music in each of the five movements had an intensity that left me wanting to soak up every note, and after each movement the urge to break out into applause grew stronger, but the wonderful conductor, Edward Gardner, was having none of it, driving the orchestra on, to ever greater feats.
The final movement ends in violent uproar, as the witches dance manically, and then abrupt silence, a silence broken only by the unleashed applause, of an impressed and grateful audience. The images conjured up by Gardner were no less vivid for the passing of more than 50 years, thanks to Berlioz, the London Philharmonic, and yes good old Mr Phillips. https://lpo.org.uk/tickets-and-discounts/
images courtesy of Marc Gascoigne
Future concerts
Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider plays Tchaikovsky
Saturday 1 Mar 2025, 7.30pm – Royal Festival Hall. Three very different composers, but in Omer Meir Wellber’s hands, they’re all part of the same unforgettable story. He is joined by another artist who strikes sparks – violinist Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider – for Tchaikovsky’s hugely popular Violin Concerto.
Repertoire
Mahler/Schnittke – Piano Quartet, arranged for piano and strings Haydn – Symphony No. 49 (La Passione) Tchaikovsky – Violin Concerto
Wednesday 5 Mar 2025, 7.30pm – Royal Festival Hall
‘Unforgettable’ was how one critic described Fleming’s 2022 Gala with the LPO, and tonight she returns to sing Richard Strauss’s radiant Four Last Songs. Music that never grows old, sung by one of the supreme voices of our time.
Repertoire
Wagner – Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde. R Strauss – Four Last Songs. Wagner – Overture and Venusberg Music from Tannhäuser. Wagner – Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin. Wagner – Overture, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Friday 7 Mar 2025, 6.30pm – St John’s Church, Waterloo
Six LPO players immerse themselves in the contemporary culture of Britain and America; hear them break away, jump for joy and hit the dancefloor in a concert of music by five composers who defy convention and genre to create some of the most original music of the 21st century.
Repertoire
Hannah Kendall – Vera. Tania León – String Quartet No. 2. Jessie Montgomery – Break Away. Daniel Kidane – Foreign Tongues. Brian Raphael Nabors – Jump
Wednesday 12 Mar 2025, 7.30pm – Queen Elizabeth Hall. Kevin John Edusei presents Zappa, Martinů and a new clarinet concerto with phenomenal Syrian clarinettist Kinan Azmeh.
Repertoire
Zappa – The Dog Breath Variations/Uncle Meat; Outrage at Valdez; G-Spot Tornado. Dinuk Wijeratne – Clarinet Concerto (European premiere). Martinů – Symphony No. 6 (Fantaisies symphoniques)
Wednesday 19 Mar 2025, 7.30pm – Royal Festival Hall. Robin Ticciati presents Mahler’s blockbuster journey from darkness to light.
Repertoire
R Schumann – Piano Concerto. Mahler – Symphony No. 5
Alina Ibragimova plays Prokofiev
Wednesday 26 Mar 2025, 6.30pm – Royal Festival Hal. In a time of revolution, Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto wove fairytale magic – and no-one makes it dance like Alina Ibragimova.
Repertoire
Saariaho – Orion. Prokofiev – Violin Concerto No. 1. Nielsen – Symphony No. 5
Saturday 29 Mar 2025, 7.30pm – Queen Elizabeth Hall
Eva Ollikainen rediscovers two modern classics, and Colin Currie – in the words of one critic, ‘surely the world’s finest and most daring percussionist’ – explores new ways of listening, with the extraordinary, culture-crossing Water Concerto by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon composer Tan Dun.
Repertoire
Pärt – Symphony No. 1 (Polyphonic). Tan Dun – Water Concerto. Lutosławski – Symphony No. 3 https://lpo.org.uk/tickets-and-discounts/
