Mendelssohn & Wagner, CBSO, Symphony Hall, Birmingham, 28 May 2025, 5☆☆☆☆☆. Review: David Gray & Paul Gray.
Mendelssohn & Wagner, CBSO, Symphony Hall, Birmingham, 28 May 2025,
5☆☆☆☆☆. Review: David Gray & Paul Gray.
“A satisfying, well played and - well sung - concert, full of contrasts.”
Mendelssohn – A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Overture
Wagner – Wesendonck Lieder
Roxanna Panufnik – Alma’s Songs Without Words
Mendelssohn – Symphony No. 4 (Italian)
This concert presented a well-balanced and satisfying programme, which contrasted well-known crowd pleasers with some less familiar pieces. Most in the audience will have been familiar with Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Overture. This is a work which really seems to capture what the play is all about: comedy, overblown protestations of love, and lots of fairy dust.
Conductor, Pierre Bleuse gave a suitably buoyant reading, with gossamer light playing from the CBSO strings. A shame that some of the orchestral chord placement as a whole was a little scatter-gun here and there. But overall, this was a characterful and pleasing performance.
A less often heard work, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, followed. Soloist, Jamie Barton, is a singer firmly in the American Mezzo tradition of artists like Marilyn Horne, with a rich, chesty lower register and a soaring, shimmering top. Excellent projection enabled her to cut through the orchestral texture, even at its densest. There is a tendency towards hardness, or an excess of edge, in the lower middle register, which can be a characteristic of this kind of voice, and some like it that way. But she certainly delivers the goods.
This was a fluid expressive performance with effective and organic interplay between the singer and the band. The musical ideas flowed between them with a feeling of spontaneity. Barton’s diction was flawless.
Roxanna Panufnik’s Alma’s Songs Without Words will not have been known to many in the Hall. Nor will its source material: three lieder by Alma Mahler. These works replace the human voice from the original songs with various solo instruments and sections of the orchestra. ‘Cellos, oboes, cor anglais, and horns all rose well to the occasion, with some very expressive playing. In truth, the piece gives the whole orchestra something of a workout. Each of the three movements build to surging and impassioned climaxes but do spawl a little along the way. It was delightful to have the composer present in the audience and then coming forward to take the much deserved applause. BBC Radio 3 were also recording this concert, and it can be heard on Radio 3 on Monday 16th June 2025.
Conductor, Maestro Bleuse, gave a well thought-out and beautifully structured reading of Mendelssohn’s perfectly crafted Italian Symphony. The CBSO played with polish, style and an exceptionally tight ensemble. This really was a joy, particularly the third movement, where the composer seems to want to capture the Palladian splendours of the titular country. Bleuse’s reading glided gracefully – all frock coats, crinolines and powdered wigs! A scintillating Saltarello brought the concert to a zesty conclusion. A truly delightful evening of tremendous contrasts.
Pierre Bleuse – Conductor
Jamie Barton – Mezzo Soprano