Concerto No 1 in G minor - Bruch
Symphony No 5 in C sharp minor
Mahler performances in Belfast remain rather rare events (the recent Eighth and the forthcoming Seventh notwithstanding) and so it was particularly interesting to hear a seasoned Mahlerian-like Antoni Wit conduct a visiting orchestra in his Fifth Symphony.
Wit's performance was effective because he appreciates the importance of the minutiae - phrasing, accentuation and detail. He chooses his tempi well and knows how to build the work. Above all, he gets the depth and intensity of string tone which is so necessary for the "stern, funeral march-like" opening movement. The worst mistake a conductor can make here is to think that the dark colours of Mahler's orchestral writing can do his work for him. Wit produced a full, brooding tone from the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, which nevertheless seemed ready to burst into life. The different moods of the scherzo were realised imaginatively, and the high spirits of the finale were always kept under firm control.
One of the reasons for the enduring magic of the Bruch concerto is that right at the start of the work it gives the solo violin an opportunity to sing in one of the most romantically violinistic themes ever written for the instrument. The young Kazakhstan-born violinist Marat Bisengaliev seemed reluctant to take advantage of the opportunity but he warmed up in the slow movement, and the main theme of the finale was crisply articulated. There was positive support from the orchestra throughout.