Avery Fisher Prize winner Joshua Bell made a welcome return to the National Concert Hall, Dublin for a second appearance in their International Concert Series. Currently on a demanding tour, Bell gave an accomplished performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 with the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra.
Completed in 1844, the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto is a colossus of the German Romantic repertoire that remains a popular choice with artists and audiences alike, although Bell made a noble effort to offer a fresh perspective on the work. He offered an extended version of the first movement cadenza, which already stands out as unusual by virtue of its position after the development section, rather than between recapitulation and coda, which I can only presume was self-composed or improvised, and not in the original score. Whilst it is commendable to see virtuosi attempting to revive in any small way the 'lost art' of improvisation, Bell's attempts were not quite stylistically consistent with the work. Nevertheless, it detracted little from the whole performance, during the course of which Bell displayed the dazzling technique and tone that was sadly missing from his solo recital earlier in the season. The second movement Andante was heartfelt without being overly sentimental; the Finale playful and animated; the rapport between soloist and orchestra delightfully clear.
The Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg, conducted by Ivor Bolton, produced some fine orchestral playing that befitted the final concert in this International Series. Although Bolton is renowned as an opera conductor, working with Glyndebourne Touring Opera, Bavarian State Opera, among others and making his Covent Garden debut in 1995, he has been Chief Conductor of the Mozarteum Orchestra since 2004. Whilst his conducting gestures are quite obviously rooted in vocal style, Bolton drew a delicate lyricism from the orchestra that suited the performance of Wagner's Siegfried Idyll that opened the concert. Written as a birthday greeting for his wife Cosima in 1870, the instrumental work is one of Wagner's most personal and subdued, mirrored in the Mozarteum Orchestra's restrained and emotionally controlled performance.
After the interval, however, any heretofore controlled emotion was unleashed in Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K.550. Although the composition date of Mozart's late symphonies is unclear, the extraordinary innovation and intense nature of Symphony No. 40 is evident. The urgency of the famous opening theme of the Molto Allegro was superbly controlled by strings; the Seufzer figures were articulated in beautiful contrast to the chromaticism of the Andante; the Menuet a powerful driving force to the challenging Finale. On the whole, this was a performance worthy of the orchestra's eminent position as Salzburg's musical ambassador.
Details of the National Concert Hall’s 2008-09 International Concert season will be announced on Tuesday 6th May.