BBCSSO/Wigglesworth/Batsashvili review – detailed and monumental Bruckner

Royal Albert Hall, LondonThe BBC Scottish chief conductor’s reading of Bruckner’s Seventh was thoughtful and balanced. Mariam Batsashvili was an enthralling soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 20. The ghost of Richard Wagner hovers over Anton Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony, most obviously in the monumental Adagio, completed mere months after the death of the Austrian composer’s musical hero and occasional drinking buddy. The slow movement duly occupied centre stage in Ryan Wigglesworth’s somewhat restrained interpretation with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, its utterances simple, yet profound. This was no funeral oration, however, but a fond farewell, its tender tones occasionally ruffled by the phalanx of Wagner tubas unsettling the harmonies towards the bottom of the orchestra.Wigglesworth’s conducting benefited from his composer’s ear: orchestral balance was spotless; instrumental colours blended with an instinct for detail. Equally effective was his way of always keeping something in reserve, especially important in Bruckner where the slow build is paramount. In the first movement, the architectural framework was clearly defined, the conductor adopting a (mostly) non-interventionist approach to phrasing and rubato. Not that the performance lacked incident, with great wodges of brass giving way to the sound of solitary flutes crying in the wilderness. In contrast, the scherzo was almost jaunty. It was left to the finale to climb one final mountain and end in a blaze of glory. Continue reading...

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