Firebird Suite (1919) - Stravinsky
Bassoon Concerto - John Buckley
Symphony No 3 - Rachmaninov
John Buckley's Bassoon Concerto, an RTE commission completed earlier this year, avoids most of the obvious problems inherent in setting that instrument against a large orchestra. The scoring is often delicate and bright-coloured. The main body of the orchestra responds and punctuates, often with generalised gestures and occasionally with main motivic material, much of which is carried by the bassoon.
That main material works well at first. But it is sustained in varied form across all three movements, and that, it seemed on this one hearing, was more than the ideas could bear without lapsing into mechanical procedures. Michael Jones was an impressive soloist, always reliable, and with impeccable scaling of volume and tone. This was a remarkably assured first performance by the National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Alexander Anissimov.
Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 3 is a far more virtuosic work than either of his earlier symphonies. Such diversity and complexity requires strong control.
On Friday night, the NSO got it right. Anissimov always had expressive purpose in revealing what was round each of the music's many bends, and kept his destination in mind. The NSO's colourful, well-balanced sound was indicative of conducting which encouraged, even forced, players to listen as well as watch.
That was also one of the strengths in the concert's opening item, the 1919 version of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. Rhythmic precision and definition made this a performance with roots firmly in the suite's ballet origins. Anissimov took risks, and while not all of them paid off, they were worth it.
