BBC Symphony Orchestra, Oramo: Thought-provoking Matthews and transcendent Beethoven
Barbican, London
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.'Crumple a page from a broadsheet very gently, with a pulse of 72': the precision of Colin Matthews’ instructions for his new piece Traces Remain indicates the fine calibration of its effects, but this quality is not immediately apparent: it takes a while for its initial discordancy to resolve into the gripping sequence which is its raison d’etre.
He tells us to look out for echoes of Beethoven, Schoenberg, Sibelius, and Mahler, and that the whole work is underpinned by a Jacobean lute song, but the first movement is dominated by a walking-bass figuration which passes from one instrument to another in a moto perpetuo.
When Mahler comes into the frame in valedictory mode, the string textures acquire a seductive luminosity; the Jacobean melody then appears in the form of a Bach chorale which sweeps everything up into its graceful momentum.
The numerous solo spots were well taken by members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo’s direction: before this, four horn players had come centre-stage for a rare performance of Schumann’s Konzertstuck in F major for four horns and orchestra; this was revelatory, if not exactly transcendent.
But transcendence did come with a beautifully-conceived account of Beethoven’s Eroica.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments