To begin at the end, conductor Jonathon Darlington concluded proceedings with an address to an audience whose cacophonous applause was still echoing around the hall. “I’m a Brit,” he announced, going on to explain that the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra comprises musicians of twenty-two different nationalities, adding: “And as you’ve heard, we all play together.” Darlington recalled his roots in “Elgar country” then lead the orchestra through that composer’s evergreen Salut d’Amor as an encore. This done, he hugged the orchestra leader before leaving the stage, after which the players turned to each other and hugged to renewed applause. It was a poignant demonstration of kinship in these divisive times, albeit a tad performative, and was welcomed by a palpably engaged audience.
Coming at the end of a programme which showcased three staples of the core Germanic repertoire, I couldn’t help feeling that the orchestra’s evident commitment to a cross-cultural aesthetic might have been better served by a more imaginatively curated offering, perhaps offsetting Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto with something less represented, but still large-scale, from the Franco-Russian canon: a piece by Honegger, say, or Glazunov. Still, what we had was exuberant, exciting and rapturously received.
The opener was a piece I can take or leave: the overture to Weber’s opera Der Freischütz. There’s a certain interchangeability to Weber’s overtures, so kudos to orchestra and conductor for imbuing it with character and resonance. What could have been little more than an amuse bouche prior to the hearty fare of Beethoven and Brahms here came into its own.
the longer we look into it, the more brightly the stars shine back
The Emperor Concerto was up next, pianist Federico Colli enthusiastically stepping into the limelight. Bearing a distinct resemblance to Phil Lynott and decked out in sharp suit and dashing red cravat, he cut a memorable figure. His presence at the keyboard was no less flamboyant. Maybe too much so. The overall effect - a study in exaggerated eccentricity which brought to mind Glenn Gould but with a better tailor - threatened to distract from the music. Fortunately, the sheer power of Colli’s playing kept things on course, with the orchestra on excellent form, effortlessly keeping up with his pacy, hard-driven account. The long (twenty-minute) opening movement, in particular, seemed to whizz by.
A sense of urgency also informed Brahms’ Symphony No. 4, which occupied the second half. Conceived as a purposefully Beethovenian work, the critic Eduard Hanslick said of the symphony that “it is like a dark well; the longer we look into it, the more brightly the stars shine back.” Personal favourite interpretations - Bohm, Klemperer, Barbirolli - employ broad tempi to create nuance and accentuate fine detail, lending it a burnished, autumnal quality. Darlington took a diametrically opposite approach, striving for high drama via a propulsive tempo, whipping up the orchestra with an indefatigable, at times almost savage, podium technique. The result was a sustained and dynamic piece of visceral music-making, and Nottingham roared its approval.
The Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra played at the Royal Concert Hall on Friday, 15th of November 2024.
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