Sea Interludes and Passacaglia from Peter Grimes - Britten
Violin Concerto No 3 - Saint-Saens
Enigma Variations - Elgar
The National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Takuo Yuasa took a while to get into their stride at the NCH on Friday. The four atmospheric interludes from that landmark of mid-20th-century British opera, Britten's Peter Grimes, didn't really settle in at all. It wasn't until the Passacaglia that the distinctive colouring of the music was captured with any real sharpness.
Saint-Saens's third and final violin concerto is a work which, for a decade or more, hasn't been performed by a professional orchestra in Dublin. It dates from 1880, when the composer was at the height of his powers, and it makes the feat of writing tuneful music, beautifully constructed and well-endowed with original effects, seem so effortless, it would be easy to take the composer's very special skills for granted.
Friday's soloist, Olivier Charlier, responded with grace and restrained virtuosity, while at the same time making the most of the opportunity for pleasurable music-making. And, under Yuasa, the NSO's contribution seemed to be offered in a spirit of sensitively supportive partnership.
Yuasa's was by no means the warmest account of the Enigma Variations you could imagine. But, coming after a period in the season where there has been an uncommon amount of stylistic and technical floundering in Beethoven and Wagner, its clear lines and pointed responses were a veritable breath of fresh air.
