When Schubert died at the tragically early age of thirty-one, he left a vast body of compositions, hundreds of which were incomplete, ranging from some that were just a few bars in length, to complete movements intended for longer works. Amongst these was what we know as his Symphony No 8 in B minor, or “The Unfinished”, even though there are at least two other symphonies which he also put to one side, unfinished, perhaps intending to work on them later.
In 1928 the Columbia Gramophone Company announced an international competition to mark the centenary of the composer’s death, the task being to complete “The Unfinished”. This proved to be very controversial, the rules being changed several times, and the eventual “winner”, the Swede Kurt Atterberg, being ridiculed for his “Symphony No 6”, which in reality, is rather good. The pianist, Frank Merrick, was the regional British finalist, and many other well-known composers also entered, Alexander Glazunov being chairman of the impressive team of judges. BUT, all this proved was that the two movements that make up Schubert’s “Unfinished” are in reality complete in themselves, lasting, as they did in MSO’s concert, some twenty-seven minutes. Although most symphonies do have four movements, many do not: one thinks of Rubinstein’s ‘Ocean Symphony’, which has seven.
Brian Wright took a sedate view of the first movement, allowing the superbly resonant double bass section to underpin the orchestra, letting the music spread, at the same time revealing great attention to dynamics. Although, occasionally, the cellos sounded hesitant in the more exposed passages, the overall effect was of a conductor who had known this music for a lifetime. The second movement proved to be a pleasing contrast with gorgeous sounds from the woodwind section, especially the principal clarinet, Graeme Vinall, and the first violins often producing a rich timbre in the more exposed sections.
Weber’s three clarinet concertos were composed eleven years before Schubert’s 8th Symphony, in 1811 for Heinrich Baermann, having been commissioned by King Maximilian of Bavaria. And the second concerto, especially, has become very popular in recent years, together with Baermann’s “embellishments” which make it into a truly virtuosic work for a superb musician, which is what MSO’s soloist, Jonathan Leibovitz, undoubtedly is. He has the most beautiful, smooth, opulent, creamy tone when required, rather like very thick cream being slowly poured from a jug, as well as the technique to make the coloratura passages sound easy. From the almost impossible highest notes to the very lowest, he is totally at ease, clearly enjoying and savouring every moment of this underrated work. The orchestral writing, especially for the strings, is quite challenging at times, but the MSO coped very well, as if they had been playing it all their lives.
After the interval, Wright programmed a work which many community orchestras would consider challenging: Brahms’ Fourth Symphony. It had, however, obviously been thoroughly rehearsed and proved to be a very Germanic interpretation, in the style, perhaps, of Otto Klemperer. All that was missing was to have the excellent second violins on the conductor’s right, rather than next to the first violins, so that they balance the sound, as is still done in most orchestras in Europe, and as Brahms would have expected.
However, that is a minor criticism, given the high level of playing, the first violins coping well with the various difficulties thrown at them, for example in the final movement, and the woodwind section again making an impact, especially principal flautist Anna Binney – what a resonant, full sound she has – and Kirsten Couldwell, principal oboe. The excellent timpanist, Keith Price, also impressed with some very clean playing, as did Owain Williams with his challenging triangle part in the third movement.
This fourth concert in MSO’s 2025-2026 series was a very enjoyable foray into some ‘romantic’ music from the nineteenth century, proving, as Brian Wright says, in his introduction to the 2026-2027 season, that the orchestra is in “rude health”. Congratulations to all.
