Maidstone Symphony Orchestra 22 March 2025
Mote Hall, Maidstone
The third overture (of four) which Beethoven wrote for Fidelio, his only opera – Leonora No 3 – is a pleasingly colourful concert opener because it tells the story so clearly. In this performance the trombones set the scene nicely in the opening dungeon scene, the off-stage trumpet nailed the triumphant drama and I admired the accuracy of the high speed string work which precedes the joyful ending.
Then came the centrepiece of the evening: Tchaikovsky’s flamboyant violin concerto and soloist Callum Smart whose modest demeanour belies his phenomenal technique. His first entry was breathtakingly mellifluous as he delivered every note with all the compelling warmth the piece demands. Wright meanwhile balanced the orchestra so that we heard a coherent conversation, including very incisive pizzicato, between soloist and players. Smart looks at the orchestra and listens attentively when he’s not playing himself and that’s very telling. The show-stopping cadenza was stunning too. How on earth does Smart find all those climactic harmonics and make then resonate so tunefully?
The tender shift into G minor for the Canzonetta movement was, as ever, a beautiful contrast: silky playing from Smart, some delightful flute work and plenty of tension in the link passage into the Finale. Smart and Wright emphasised the dynamic and rhythmic contrasts in the latter and packed the duet between soloist and orchestra with excitement. And if it wasn’t always quite together then it didn’t detract from the infectious joie-de-vivre. Smart’s impressive encore was his own arrangement of Amazing Grace – a mini masterclass in double stopping, split chords and imaginative harmonies.
Dvorak’s Symphony No 7 is always a melodic delight and MSO, now fully warmed up, more than did it justice on this occasion from the bravura brass work in the opening movement to the grandiloquence of the final page. Wright ensured there was gentle beauty in the string playing in the Poco adagio especially when we reached the sublime cello melody and I have rarely heard this movement brought to such a sensitive conclusion. Also noteworthy was the elegantly negotiated counterpoint in the Scherzo which included strongly supportive timp work and delightful flute playing in the “trio” passage. Wright chose, rather refreshingly, to exaggerate the tempo changes in the Finale more than some conductors do and built plenty of mystery into that wonderful section which I always think sounds like theme music for a faux sinister comedy drama. Good old Dvorak.
Thanks, MSO, for yet another enjoyable concert.
Photograph credit: Patrick Allen & Roscoe Rutter
