A gorgeously curated evening of Eastern European Classical music. Entrancing.
Estimated duration: 115mins (incl. 20min interval)
This series of pieces is informed by traditional European folk music each composed with flair and obvious admiration for their influence, the evening was a whirlwind of sensory experiences. Led by the exuberant Greek-Albanian violinist Jonian Illias-Kadesha, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra played through a beautifully curated set with their usual passion and enthusiasm. Unlike in traditional settings, the evening was played through without a conductor to surprisingly great effect. With only minute moments when the ensemble strayed from tempo, the orchestra demonstrated their exquisite active listening skills and blend while also embracing the physical movement of each piece.
Beginning with the Romanian, Ligeti Concert Românesc, the audience was transported through the cinematic orchestration with movements that could have underscored multitudes of life. In contrast, Bartók’s Divertimento provided a jaunty and teasing conversation between the strings throughout the three movement piece. Far from an effortless endeavor, the Bartók was played with such enthusiasm and vigor, it is no wonder this closed the first half of the evening.
As many folk inspired pieces do, the Skalkottas Five Greek Dances, evoked country dancing halls and genteel civility that morphed into a buoyant and exuberant chase. It was a wonderful thing to behold the musician’s obvious enjoyment of the piece, but paled in comparison to the energy brought forth when playing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No 5 ‘Turkish.’
Unlike the previous pieces, Illias-Kadesha directed all five movements by playing in the space typically occupied by the conductor. Throughout the Mozart, it was a true joy to catch each and every musician smiling and engaging with one another. The comradery of musicianship bubbled over in this piece as they each in turn stopped in their longer rests to hear Illias-Kadesha demonstrate his frankly glorious improvisatory solo part with fine control of the very quiet high notes.
Closing the show with Ravel’s Tzigane felt like a bit of an odd choice after so many lovely, connected pieces. Although on paper it seemed to fit the bill, the piece was on the shorter side of the evening’s pieces and had an unhinged and frenetic energy that felt like an dissatisfying conclusion to an evening of such well contained pieces. This coupled with the few moments where the ensemble could have benefited from a conductor are the only drawbacks to an otherwise phenomenal evening.
This performance was a beautiful demonstration of how these pieces were meant to be enjoyed, communally and joyfully. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra continues to stand at the height of musical excellence within Scotland and to be present with them for an evening was a real treat. A five star performance from start to finish, and I could not recommend attending their performances more, after this display of professionalism and imagination.
REVIEWER: Cosette Bolt