Iberia Suite - Albeniz/Arbos
Nights in the Gardens of Spain Falla
Bolero - ravel
Friday evening's concert in the Teatime Summer Sounds series at the National Concert Hall was devoted to music from and inspired by Spain. All three pieces on the programme featured highly-coloured orchestration, and this was well served by the vivid playing of the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alexander Anissimov.
That was necessary in Enrique Fernandez Arbos's over-dense orchestrations of five pieces from Albeniz's Iberia. These reworkings of elaborate piano textures have their moments; but orchestral virtuosity tends to draw attention to itself rather than illuminate Albeniz's music.
The contrast with de Falla's economical production of colour was striking. In his Nights in the Gardens of Spain the piano soloist was Philip Martin, whose shapely but under-projected playing did not make the most of the piano's concerto-like relationship to the orchestra. Co-ordination between soloist, conductor and orchestra was exemplary.
Ravel's Bolero was the concluding item, and what an ending this performance made! It steered a steady course between deadpan control and flamboyant passion, the latter gradually rising without loss of the former. Ensemble - so difficult to hold onto in this relentless, unforgiving piece - was good, but not as impressive as the control over the gradual crescendo.
The beginning was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The end was deafening. And there was not a bump in between. Exhausting to play, this obsessive music proved exhausting to listen to. So it should be.