{TABLE} Ma Mere l'oye Suite ............. Ravel Viola Concerio .................. Bartok Symphony No 1 ................... Brahms {/TABLE} THE Halle Orchestra's concert at the National Concert Hall on Friday night lived up to that orchestra's reputation.
Nearly 30 years ago I heard the Halley's leader declare that the Halle was a "romantic orchestra", at its best in the later 19th and early 20th century symphonic repertoire. On the evidence of this concert it still is, for its performance of Brahms's Symphony No 1 was more vivid than those of Ravel's suite Ma Mere l'oye and Bartok's Viola Concerto.
That said, these pieces had their strengths, too. The conductor, Gunther Herbig, produced the most intimate and delicate reading of the Ravel I have ever heard. However, it was too understated to realise the occasional, calculated brilliance of Ravel's orchestration.
Tabea Zimmermann was the soloist in the Bartok. Her tone was extraordinary in its range of colour and in its carrying power, even in the quietest pianissimo.
No less extraordinary was her sense of rhythm, which shaped the demanding solo part with purposeful flexibility. Her unfailing artistry dominated the performance.
In the first movement, the orchestral playing was efficient rather than compelling, but it was more gripping in the slow movement and finale.
The Halley gave a rewarding and uplifting performance of the Brahms symphony. Brahms is not an obviously colourful orchestrator, but he thrives on that sectional definition which is one of this orchestra's strengths.
The string tone was luxurious, the woodwind sound rich and strong, the brass blended, and the horn playing was the most intense I have heard in a long time. Add all this to the Halley's rounded type of attack and you have a style very different from the snappy precision cultivated by many modern, premier league orchestras.
For the Brahms, and for the Prelude to Wagner's Die Meistersinger, which was played as an encore, it seemed ideal.