Borusan Istambul Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Carlo Tenan
Cellist: Pablo Ferrandez
Cadogan Hall, 08 April 2025
This pleasingly wide-ranging concert took us across more than two centuries and several countries. With a Turkish orchestra (part of Cadogan Hall’s Zurich International Orchestra Series) Italian conductor, Spanish soloist and works by German, Austrian, French and Turkish composers, the atmosphere was richly cosmopolitan.
First up was a seriously romantic take on Schubert’s “Unfinished” symphony. It may be very familiar to many of us but my plus-one, who is new to classical music, said she found it very moving – and it was. I really liked the gentle humour is sustaining the horn note on a much longer pause than usual before the second subject melody and Tenan exaggerated it more at each repeat. He also found great tenderness in the Andante which included some rather beautiful lower string pizzicato and lots of carefully highlighted wind detail, especially oboe.
Moreover I have rarely seen an orchestral player so evidently enjoying every note of the music as principal cello, Cag Ercag, He smiled at other players, looked back at the principal double bass or across at violas (seated on the outside) to ensure entries were effortlessly together. He really is quite something.
Then came a spirited account of the Cello Concerto no 1 by Saint-Saens with all its virtuosic contrasts. Pablo Ferrandez (pictured) is a charismatic player who played it with striking purity of sound, plenty of passion, expressive glissandi and an unusually elegant Allegretto. For a complete contrast, and palate cleanser, he played Bach for his encore.
After the interval the orchestra brought in additional percussionists for Nasreddin Hoca Humoresque by Turkish composer Ferit Tuzun and suddenly we had shot forward to 1957. Off-beat rhythms, with kit drum and tambourine packed it with joie de vivre and a strong whiff of Stravinsky.
And so back to the well known fields, birds and weather of Beethoven’s “Pastoral” symphony. It’s not easy to make Beethoven, at his sunniest, sound fresh but with Tenan’s expansively fluid conducting style and his emphasis on dynamic range this account felt both sparky and affectionate without wallowing. The balance in the exposed string sections in the Andante, for instance, was good especially in the busy passages beneath the nicely played bird calls. The storm was as dramatic and graphic as I’ve ever heard it, with terrific timp and piccolo work. And by the time we reached the “Bye Baby Bunting” melody the orchestra was achieving an unusual blend of grandeur and lightness given that this is definitely not a chamber orchestra playing gut strings and trying to adhere to Beethoven’s unlikely metronome markings.
Finally, we got into party mode with an encore by a Turkish composer, Suleyman, which brought back the additional percussionists and created a lively finale, called in English “Change”. Tenan was now batonless and almost everyone on stage was visibly moving to, and having fun with, the powerful rhythms.
