An all-English programme brings planets, battles and a cello to the Royal Concert Hall...
With the expected heavy-hitters of the Austro-Germanic and Franco-Russian repertoire dominating much of the concert season, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s all-British programme was more than welcome.
William Walton was first up: the Spitfire Prelude and Battle in the Air, the only two pieces from his Battle of Britain Suite that were retained in Guy Hamilton’s eponymous all-star movie after the producers favoured Ron Goodwin. (Goodwin later went on record that the rejection of the rest of Walton’s score was tantamount to idiocy.) These short interlinked pieces were delivered with an appropriate degree of drama and dynamism, Manze conducting with a sprightliness that belied his otherwise almost headmasterly appearance.
Cellist Guy Johnston then joined the orchestra. The concert had originally been announced as featuring Mark Bebbington as soloist in Arthur Bliss’s Piano Concerto. With a hand injury taking Bebbington out of the game, Bliss’s Cello Concerto was programmed instead. Not only did Johnston unequivocally win over the audience, conjuring passages of sustained lyrical beauty, but the change of repertoire created what was arguably a more effective contrast between the vigourous excitement of the Walton and the large scale work occupying the second half, Gustav Holst’s Planets Suite.
It’s an evergreen work: always popular with concert goers and coming into its own in the expansive acoustic of the concert hall in a way that isn’t always achieved on record. Still, there’s always the risk of overfamiliarity, and I did wonder during the interval whether the programme might have benefited from one or more of Holst’s lesser known works in its place - the Algerian inspired soundscape of Beni Mora, the delicate oriental infusions of the Japanese Suite or the quintessentially English pastoral that is the Cotswolds Symphony. Perhaps the rapturous response to their account of the Planets might embolden the orchestra to present a more diverse selection of Holst’s work in future concerts.
From the pounding intensity of Mars to the wordless vocal diminuendo that concludes Neptune
No bones about it: Manze and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s performance of the Planets was one for the ages. My concerns about overfamiliarity were swept away within minutes. Once in a while an old stalwart, so stolidly (and often stodgily) represented in the canon, is revived, refreshed, shot through with an immediacy and urgency that can make even a jaded audience feel like they are hearing the piece for the first time.
From the pounding intensity of Mars to the wordless vocal diminuendo that concludes Neptune in a moment of held-breath transcendence - by way of the tranquil soundscape of Venus, the soaring strings of Mercury, the joyful heartiness of Jupiter, the nervous autumnal quality of Saturn, and the dark humoresque of Uranus - neither orchestra nor conductor put a foot wrong.
Kudos also to the Cantamus Choir for their otherworldly contribution to Neptune. Kept offstage during the Plsnets so that they were heard only as an ethereal chorus, they remained to take centre stage for an after hours recital of vocal works ranging from Mozart to Morricone: an unexpected treat for an audience already buzzing from a sumptuous performance.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra played at the Royal Concert Hall on Thursday Ocotber 24th 2024.
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