A capacity audience greeted Antoni Wit and the Warsaw Philharmonic on Wednesday evening at National Concert Hall, Dublin in a concert of Tchaikovsky, Dvorak and Shostakovich.
Founded in 1901, the history of the orchestra is not unimpressive, having enjoyed relationships with Grieg, Klemperer, Rachmaninoff, Horowitz and Rubenstein, for example, and the title of National Orchestra of Poland was bestowed upon the ensemble in 1955.
The development of such an eminent pedigree, however, was in little evidence during the course of the evening's concert.
Although Tchaikovsky's Fantasy Overture 'Romeo and Juliet' could scarcely be called subtle, the Warsaw Philharmonic's performance was wholly devoid of even an attempt of refinement. It is usually the case that this overture tends to be over-sentimentalised but that was certainly not the problem here. Even from the opening melody in clarinet and bassoon the rendition was loud and brash, with little thought for balance; tempo changes were clunky and rarely together, and the famous love theme was bellowed out for all it was worth.
Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B minor, Opus 104, followed the overture. Although the orchestral performance noticeably improved for the long exposition before the soloist's entry, it was soon eclipsed by the inadequacy of much of Julian Lloyd Webber's playing. Smudging the opening notes, his performance lacked any real depth of tone or expression and was characterised by very weak projection. Certainly, Lloyd Webber had no commanding presence on stage nor any demonstrable connection with orchestra, conductor or music, save for some moments in the elegiac second movement that approached emotional engagement with the composition.
Having written fifteen symphonies, Shostakovich is one of the most prolific and arguably the greatest Russian symphonist of the twentieth century. As with much music of the period, it is difficult to assess his music without reference to the far-reaching effects of Stalin and the Soviet regime. Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony in particular, is often singled out; written in 1937 after the infamous denunciation of his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, it is accompanied by countless theories of subtext and dissent.
Unfortunately, this performance by the Warsaw Philharmonic glossed over the fraught oppression that is so embedded in this work. Wit's choice of tempi were again uneven, the orchestra frequently getting out of synch, something he failed to rectify. His direction would have benefited from a greater sense of rubato, but as it was, the tension and release that is key in this symphony was missing, and in turn the sense of structure entirely lost. Once again, any subtlety and sensitivity that could have been drawn out from this work was eschewed in favour of aggressive and forceful brass and timpani that thundered the symphony to a close.
Encoring with a polish dance, it seemed clear that the orchestra were much more at home in that lively rustic style than they had been all evening. But it was disappointing that with such a large number of musicians Wit could not demand from his players the more confident and secure technique that seems to be just beneath the surface, and that would have greatly furthered the interpretation.