“André Cebrian may be the star, but the whole orchestra shines together”
There’s nothing like live music to turn those brutal Scottish nights to a head bopping night out. Usually you might think of a night out seeing whichever travelling artist is playing at a venue hidden in the back alleys of Cowgate; but I swear by a live orchestra being able to do the same thing, at least if everything goes to plan.
As conductor Andrew Manze stated in his charming opening talk of the night about the programme and history of the pieces we were about to listen to, Mozart didn’t think highly of the flute , but might have changed his mind if he heard André Cebrián play it. I cant speak for Mozart, but André certainly does rock the flute like a lead guitarist.
We are opened with Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony No 2, a rather brooding and dramatic piece that while not starring the flutes introduces us to them, before they really show off. While the head bobbing hadn’t begun for myself, Mozart’s Flute Concerto in G changed that. André really shines in this, Mozart composed this magical almost cloudlike piece that really brings into all the fast but delicate notes of the flute into the spotlight which André handles with ease.
The flute sometimes get’s a middling rep, I don’t know many people who when deciding to learn an instrument would pick one up, but I’m glad André has as he absolutely shreds on this. It’d be rude to headbang at a orchestra, or at least it would feel like that, but the powerful, graceful way André plays the flute really made me want to break that social The follow up piece of Schmelzer arr Manze’s Serenata is a rather more chaotic piece which jolted us alive from the interval, and was followed up with the classic Mozart symphony no 35 ‘Haffner’. Here the strings get plenty of moments to shine, the violins and viola take center stage in the most relaxing string movement I’ve heard, had I not needed to get home afterwards I could have fallen asleep on the spot.
André once again stars for his encore wherein he plays a solo solemn piece in remembrance of the victims and survivors of the floods in Valencia. As emotional performance as you’d expect it pours into every note, breath and while technically impressive it is more underplayed than previous pieces in the show, letting the focus be on what really mattered.
A beautiful and balanced arrangement of pieces, executed with as much grace and power as each note deserved made a wonderful night. While the flute is the highlight and deservedly so, the Scottish chamber orchestra are not merely a support act, showing their prowess and creating a fun, varied dive into musical history. Of course André was superb and I would have liked a few more solo pieces from him, he’s either gonna covert you to a flute lover or make you leave wanting more. I’m certainly left wanting more, next time I’ll see if we can start a mosh pit during his performance, it’s worth a try.