Legendary Hungarian musician Andràs Schiff did some impressive multi-tasking on Saturday night, giving regular conductor Marios Papadopoulos a night off as he took on the mantles of both piano soloist and conductor. In the opening piece, Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D, he combined both functions, and there was a noticeable rapport between him and the orchestra in an exhilarating realisation of this sunniest of concertos. Right from the bright, cheery orchestral introduction, this was a positive and upbeat performance. Schiff‘s solo lines were imbued with authority and technical agility, and he raised gentle chuckles from the audience with his chirpy interpretation of the playful first movement. But there were some contrastingly meditative moments in the sublime Adagio, too, before the energy and zest returned for the dance-like and ultimately dazzling finale.
That same energy spilled over into the Symphony No.104, the ‘London’, combined with a strong sense of purpose. This time Schiff was entirely in conductor mode, his minimalist style of directing appearing deceptively laid-back but in reality drawing a fine range of moods and dynamics from the players in a work that is by turns spirited, bold, lyrical and contemplative, before resolving into a boisterous Allegro spiritoso.
And so to the highlight of the evening — Haydn’s glorious Nelson Mass. This was a thrilling, exuberant performance, in which every number was a pure joy to hear. Among the soloists, soprano Susanna Hurrell was particularly impressive, negotiating the tricky solo line in the Kyrie with ease, and delivering an exquisite Et incarnatus est. But there were strong contributions, too, from mezzo Catherine King and tenor Nicholas Mulroy, and a powerful Qui tollis from Mark Stone. But the real stars, for me, were the choirs of Christ Church Cathedral and Worcester College, particularly the youngsters from Christ Church Cathedral School, who sang angelically and with exceptional poise and maturity.
- Nicola Lisle
