Marin Alsop conducts Scheherazade
Philharmonia
Marin Alsop
Cello: Ailsa Weilerstein
Royal Festival Hall
12 March, 2026
The first half of this concert presented an imaginative, all-Mexican pairing. It’s a treat to hear an orchestra of this calibre having beautifully balanced fun with the rich rhythmic pulsating of Arturo Marquez’s Danzon no 2. It is, of course, a fusion of Mexican popular music with classical ideas and this compelling account of it included splendid tuba work, bows-down pizzicato and a suitably understated violin solo (Sergey Ostrovsky) The energetic cross-rhythms made it quite hard to sit still and listen.
Thence to a completely different sound world and response to Mexico. Gabriela Ortiz’s Cello Concerto “Dzonot” is a reflection on Mexico’s natural underwater network and an expression of concern for the environment as well as a celebration of its beauty. This was the London premiere of the piece played by Ailsa Weilerstein to whom it is dedicated.
Weilerstein can certainly coax some unusual un-cello-like sounds from her instrument. The second movement opens with col legno (to represent the padding feet of a jaguar) and there are some plaintively mysterious harmonies in the third movement with a pedal note in the basses and tinkling bells at the top of the texture. Her glissandi grab the attention and so do her harmonics. It’s a piece full of haunting sound effects and Weilerstein plays it beautifully – it must be pretty challenging but satisfying to do for her as well as for conductor and orchestra. On the other hand it’s not particularly listenable and I suspect many of the audience, who were looking forward to the main piece in the concert might have preferred something more melodious ,although contrast and innovation are always welcome.
And so to the high spot of the evening and this performance of Scheherazade – Rimsky-Korsakov, always a sumptuous melodist, at his very best – really did scale the heights. Played throughout with incisive passion and conducted by Marin Alsop without a score, it shone like a brightly burnished old coin. Highlights included the magnificent bassoon solo in the second movement which Arvid Larrsson packed with warmth and rubato. And Ostovsky played the narrative solo line with immaculate poignancy without ever milking it. The rich string work, especially, in the third section was full of dynamic contrasts and I like the way Alsop sometimes stops conducting conventionally and simply sways.
I suspect the quality of a Philharmonia performance such as this lies partly in the sense that every member of the orchestra is enjoying playing. It’s not just a job. Annabelle Meare, principal second violin, always draws my eye, for example, because she lives and breathes every note with tangible pleasure.
Photograph: Gabriela Ortiz
