Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet describes the feuding between Romeo of the Montague family and thirteen year old Juliet of the Capulet family. With the help of Friar Laurence the young couple plan to marry but it goes horrible wrong. Shakespeare and this story in particular was a favourite in Tchaikovsky's Russia. Although encouraged to write an opera by mentor Balakirev, what emerged was his Overture-Fantasy which the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, in measured fashion, went from the solemn opening for Friar Laurence to the stormy, noisy battle-related relationship between the Montagues and Capulets to the love scene and its most unfortunate end.
Although Executive Producer Manus Carey tried to draw out of Armenian-named conductor Peter Oundjian in the pre-concert talk some connection with Armenian-named Aram Khachaturian, the conductor wasn't having it. But there was hardly anyone listening who claimed to have heard Khachaturian's Piano Concerto. Indeed the much respected Chinese pianist Xiayin Wang had not performed it before. Not long ago I was living with a concert pianist and know just how much work goes into learning and setting into memory a sophisticated work like this. The audience loved it. We had been told to look out, in the second movement, for the flexatone, indeed both flexatones. I saw them being played, one after another, but can't say I heard them. But I did enjoy the bass clarinet solo soon after.
Both the Khachaturian and the twenty selected movements from Prokofiev's ballet music for Romeo and Juliet which followed the interval were written in the mid 1930's. It was good to hear a modern day instrument, Simon Haram on his saxophone. Peter Oundjian had told us that he put together his selection some six or seven years ago, and this was its first outing. As an aside he told us he has yet to conduct live ballet. Each movement familiar and different from the next it gave each section of the Orchestra its moment of glory and the Principal first and second violin and cello players too. Principal flautist Katherine Bryan, in the programme notes, tells of how the flute represents young Juliet. Difficult to play, she felt Prokofiev had a fondness for the flute.
An interesting concert with happy faces on the audience on the way out.
Concert: Friday 6th November 2015 at 7.30pm