Prom: 27 July 2025
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor)
Mariam Batsashvili (piano)
Royal Albert Hall
I don’t recall ever before attending a concert at which the opener was composed by the orchestra’s chief conductor. So this was rather special. Ryan Wigglesworth’s for Laura, after Bach is a tribute to Laura Samuel who led BBCSSO for 12 years until her untimely death last year at age 48. Because it’s a piece for string orchestra rooted in the Gigue from Bach’s Partita in E major for solo violin BWV 1106, there is much Brandenburg-ian busy-ness along with sections of relative lyricism. It was played carefully, as new works usually are, in a way which seemed to connote wistful, loving respect especially in the contemplative ending.
Georgian pianist Mariam Batsashvili has made quite a name for herself in a relatively short time. Dressed in a plain navy trouser suit over a simple white top, she looked less showy than any soloist I’ve seen in years. And her appearance is effectively a metaphor for her electrifying, but businesslike playing. She wanted us to listen – really listen – to the notes in Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D Minor rather than being distracted by sequins or décolletage.
This concerto, so reminiscent in places of Don Giovanni which came two years later in 1787, includes one of Mozart’s most beautiful slow movements. Batsashvili delivered it with gentle sensitivity while Wigglesworth controlled the softly pulsating string quavers beneath her melody. The finale Rondo came with commendable crispness and balance especially during the “question and answer” passages. Batsashvili has a rather appealing way of looking to her left at the instruments she’s duetting with as if she were playing chamber music so it feels intimate even in the lofty Royal Albert Hall. It was a fine performance, nicely accompanied after momentary raggedness at the start, and it was an unusual treat to hear the grandiose, imaginative Beethoven cadenzas.
And so, after the interval, to something much larger in every sense. Bruckner’s seventh symphony, premiered almost exactly a century after the Mozart, runs for over an hour and requires, among other things, double brass, four Wagner tubas, bass tuba and enlarged string sections. It demands a deal of stamina from both players and listeners.
Wigglesworth’s committed and convincing interpretation came with many highlights amongst which were the richness of the cello sound and the flute interjections (fine work from principal flautist throughout the symphony) in the first movement followed by the Rhine Maidens moment at the end of the movement – just one of many examples of Bruckner’s admiration for Wagner.
We then got the achingly beautiful adagio complete with the dark colour of the bass tuba, all kept flowing dynamically via Wigglesworth’s calm, time-beating conducting style. I liked the incisiveness of the trumpet work in the scherzo and the way in which this performance brought out the mood change into the more tender trio. Then came the rich contrasts of the high-octane, resolute finale – all played with energy and verve.
It was good to see Royal Albert Hall full to capacity for this enjoyable concert. Classical music in general, and the Proms in particular, are evidently alive and well.
