Davina Shum reports back from a rare appearance of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra at London’s Barbican, which featured soloist Pablo Ferrández performing Elgar’s Cello Concerto
It’s not every day you get the chance to watch the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (RLPO) perform in London. On the evening of 19 May, I had such opportunity, as the orchestra made a rare appearance at London’s Barbican – a venue more frequented by ensembles such as the BBC Symphony and London Symphony orchestras.
The RLPO was led by its chief conductor, Domingo Hindoyan, in a programme comprising Roberto Sierra’s Fandangos, Elgar’s timeless Cello Concerto, and Rachmaninoff’s epic Symphonic Dances – in a musical journey that took the listener through energetic, Latin-inspired dances, war-time mourning, to collective orchestral virtuosity.
Spanish cellist Pablo Ferrández took to the soloist’s rostrum for the Elgar. It’s natural for many listeners to have the classic Jacqueline du Pré interpretation etched into one’s brain when listening to the work (I’m as guilty as anyone else) but Ferrández embarked on the opening Adagio with his own distinct pace and approach. This was seen notably in the way he took to the opening chords without being overly self-indulgent and dramatic as many cellists choose, and his opening soliloquy had a calm sense of intimacy and space as it crawled upwards towards the opening theme, dovetailed by the RLPO’s viola section.
There was a sense that Ferrández approached the piece as a giant work of chamber music, with frequent looks towards the orchestra’s leader, Zoë Beyers, and gestures towards the solo clarinet in dialogue sections, despite the winds being positioned behind him. He displayed technical and musical mastery on his 1689 Stradivari ‘Archinto’ cello, which projected Elgar’s range of colours sweetly through the concert hall.
After the last movement, which sees the cello utter the same material from the opening, my friend who attended the concert with me told me to imagine that triggering an eternal loop back to the beginning of the concerto. To be honest, if it had, I happily would’ve listened to it again.
Following several rounds of applause, Ferrández treated the audience to a solo rendition of Song of the birds, the Catalan folk song championed by the legendary cellist Pablo Casals.
Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances was delightfully monumental in its energy, and I could see up-close how the RLPO’s string players were leaving it all on stage. ‘Down bow central’ was a phrase that sprung to my mind many times.
The RLPO finished its performance with an arrangement of Rachmaninoff’s song Zdes’ Khorosho, courtesy of the orchestra’s first horn player, Timothy Jackson. The song’s title translates to ‘How fair this spot,’ perhaps indicative of the Merseyside-orchestra’s view performing in this rare London appearance. One that I was very pleased to have witnessed.
DAVINA SHUM
Read: Concert review: Helen Kim (violin) Seattle Symphony/Sunny Xia
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