A Triumphant Farewell for Sakari Oramo
After an impressive twelve-year tenure leading the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conductor Sakari Oramo presented a particularly personal and multifaceted programme at London's Barbican Centre. The concert showcased three distinct works, each holding special significance for the maestro, demonstrating his deep musical understanding and the orchestra's remarkable versatility.
Three Masterpieces, One Unforgettable Evening
The evening commenced with Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Symphonic Variations on an African Air, a warmly appealing piece rooted in 19th-century Romanticism. Over its twenty-minute duration, the composition transforms the spiritual I'm Troubled in Mind from a solemn dirge into a triumphant, cymbal-crashing paean. Under Oramo's flexible direction, the music was allowed to breathe beautifully, avoiding any potential stagnation. The orchestra delivered this big-hearted fare with appropriate swagger, highlighting the work's luscious countermelodies.
Next, virtuoso violinist Christian Tetzlaff took centre stage for Thomas Adès's Violin Concerto 'Concentric Paths'. Tetzlaff proved perfectly suited to the concerto's considerable technical demands, his laser-focused playing and white-hot tone effortlessly cresting the heaviest orchestral swells. His performance was blisteringly virtuosic, particularly in the daredevil upper register where he appeared to thrive. The slow movement provided a stunning contrast, featuring moments of radiant stillness before the jaunty, syncopated finale brought the piece to a dazzling conclusion.
Sibelius's Magical Soundscapes
The concert concluded with Sibelius's Lemminkäinen Suite, a work that remains somewhat underrepresented in concert halls despite the popularity of its second movement, The Swan of Tuonela. Oramo, being the composer's compatriot, took evident delight in revealing the suite's lesser-known pleasures. Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island came alive with its earthy dances and powerful orchestral crescendos. The Swan worked its customary misty magic, featuring particularly eloquent solos from the cor anglais and cello, while shuddering strings and sinister Wagnerian chorales effectively conjured the gloomy mysteries of the Finnish underworld. The finale, depicting the resurrected hero galloping home in triumph, saw conductor and orchestra basking in some of Sibelius's sunniest music, bringing a truly magnificent evening to a close.
