CLASSICAL MUSIC REVIEW: The Halle Orchestra: Symphonie Fantastique - The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

 


It has been a very long while, perhaps too long, since I last attended a concert performed by the world famous Halle Orchestra, and since they have their home only a few miles from mine, there seems little excuse for my absence. However, there have been a few changes whilst I have been away. Many new faces adorned the orchestra line-up this evening, and having only of recent years at least heard the Halle under the direction of either Stephen Bell or Mark Elder, watching and hearing them respond under the baton of a new-to-me conductor was also a huge thrill.

Starting with the dramatic Concert Overture in Eb by Louise Farrenc, we started the concert as we meant to continue; bright, sonorous, ebullient chord structures with dazzling melodies played by an orchestra still at the height of its creative game. 

Our conductor this evening was the energetic and enigmatic Alexandre Bloch. As I have stated, to my almost certain knowledge I have never seen him in action before, and he is pure joy to watch, his theatrical direction is animated and controlling, exacting and eliciting every nuance possible from the instrumentalists. Looking and acting somewhere between Marty Feldman and Russ Abbott, he cut an individual and striking figure on the podium, and he made every single member of the orchestra sit up and beg as the notes cascaded around us.

After the lyrical and perhaps slightly pompous start, we welcomed pianist Cedric Tiberghien to the stage to play Ravel's Piano Concerto. Ravel's composition is no easy ride for the pianist (or the orchestra for that matter), and his heavily jazz-infused piano / orchestra dialogues are intricate and expression-full. Both Tiberghien and Bloch handling the dynamic changes in this work with sheer aplomb. An exuberant and roller-coaster first moment, a slow, sentimental and languorous second movement, and a jaunty and show-offy final movement made for a nail-biting but fantastic piece of live music. Tiberghien was simply electric and his playing was masterful, completely in tune with Ravel's intent and style. He had a delicacy of touch that other pianists can only dream of, and yet he was also capable of making the whole piano shake with his fortissimo chord playing; oodles of skill and a real affinity with his instrument and the music. A truly goosebump-inducing rendition that made the hairs on my neck stand on end and I simply did not want it to finish! I am not known for using such words of praise lightly, but I do believe that I was in the presence of two genii at work this evening, both pianist and conductor making a superb team.

His encore was Debussy's 'Submerged Cathedral' prelude. - simply wonderful, he made a whole story out of the notes.

After the interval and we came back for the titular piece in tonight's programme; Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. This is a dramatic work of some vision, somewhat ahead of its time. It is a non-conformist composition, and again, Bloch's intense and dramatic conducting (this time without score!) meant that the dynamics were not just adhered to but given so much more meaning and depth. I guess it must be every composer's dream to put their own 'stamp' on a particular piece and from then on have everyone refer to this as their benchmark for every future performance. For me, Bloch's conducting of the Symphonie Fantastique is not just my benchmark, but my absolute ideal. This radical and avant-garde (for 1830) piece was 'fantastique' indeed.

Wow, what a night! What a concert! Bravissimi tutti.

Reviewer - Alastair Zyggu
on - 18.5.25


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