After such a spectacular 2024, what sort of year will 2025 prove to be in BSOland?
If this first post-Christmas season concert in a near-sold-out Lighthouse, Poole, is anything to go by, the answer is “Melodic, with a lick of fire and a side order of romance.”
To start off, one of the imperishable masterpieces of English music – Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The BSO strings sounded superb, rising from the softest whisper to a roar that recalled the power of ocean breakers. But what really impressed was the unanimity and togetherness of the two string orchestras and separate quartet. This was surely born of a set of players who know each other and work together week by week.
Guest conductor the dynamic Valentina Peleggi poured energy into the performance, but didn’t let it run away with her, maintaining the mystery and spaciousness of Tallis’s Tudor theme.
She was joined by an old friend of the BSO, Simone Lamsma, for a richly romantic performance of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. The composer’s extended melodies were drawn out tenderly, with Ms Lamsma leading the way under the conductor’s steady control. The excitement of the finale was not underdone, though, with sparks flying in all direction as the work rose to its thrilling ending. Ms Lamsma’s encore – the finale of the second sonata by Ysaӱe – added to the energetic atmosphere of the performance.
After the interval Sheherazade allowed the orchestra to paint the gorgeous pictures of sound conjured by Rimsky-Korsakov. Everyone paid their tribute, not least Amyn Merchant with the violin solos which give the work its gleaming highlights. The romance of the whole performance proved totally convincing and involving, as the magnificent melodies were unrolled. As in any great concert, the sum total of the experience seemed greater than the parts, even as each section impressed with its solo features.
Sheherazade may be a piece of standard repertoire, but when played like this it creates something more than a standard experience. The melody, fire and romance set a high bar for music making to come in 2025. We may be sure the BSO will live up to this in the months to come.
Tom Wickson
If you missed this concert you can catch up until 15 February here