United Kingdom L. Boulanger, Barber, Rachmaninov: Janine Jansen (violin), London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Antonio Pappano (conductor). Barbican Corridor, London, 14.4.2024.  (JR)

L. Boulanger – D’un matin de printemps
Barber – Violin Concerto, Op.14
Rachmaninov – Symphony No.2, Op.27

Underestimated however definitely gifted Marie-Juliette Olga ‘Lili’ Boulanger was the primary feminine winner of the Prix de Rome composition prize. She was the youthful sister of famous composer and composition trainer Nadia. Sadly, Lili died on the tender age of 24, of problems following bronchial pneumonia. Within the remaining months of her life, she conjured up the sounds of a spring morning from her sickbed. The instruction within the rating is ‘fairly energetic, mild, cheerful’ and that’s precisely the way it got here throughout, Antonio Pappano conducting with each unbelievable levity and animation. The piece is stuffed with vitality, with propulsive pulsing alternating with some sparkle (from triangle and celeste). The piece is just 5 minutes lengthy, very impressionist in fashion and left one questioning what she would have gone on to compose had she not met an premature finish.

Samuel Barber is greatest identified, in fact, for his Adagio for Strings, however his easy-going Violin Concerto in all probability comes second by way of reputation. Composed in 1939, Barber rejected the methods of the Second Viennese College led by Arnold Schoenberg, and in addition Stravinsky’s new ranges of spiky dissonance, to observe his personal much less aggressive path, linked to the dying strains of Romanticism and including a distinctly American flavour. This may clarify his relative neglect, definitely on this aspect of the Pond, from the twentieth-century classical music canon.

His Violin Concerto makes for straightforward listening: playful, folk-like passages are intermingled with passionate outbursts, Janine Jansen completely attuned to the primary motion’s predominantly serene temper. Within the wistful ardent Adagio, Jansen’s limelight was virtually stolen by Julianne Koch’s elegant solo oboe enjoying. Ending with an invigorating moto perpetuo finale, this pretty work allowed Jansen to showcase all her prodigious virtuosic abilities, aided by the heat, richness and bloom of her high-quality instrument. Pappano accompanied with a full-blooded orchestral contribution. Pappano, former pianist and répétiteur, then sprung a shock: he emerged with sheet music in hand to accompany Jansen on the piano for the encore, a captivating miniature by Lili Boulanger (‘Nocturne’ from Deux morceaux pour violon et piano) within the fashion of a tea dance.

Jansen is presently Artist-in-Residence on the Wigmore Corridor. She is going to return to the London Symphony Orchestra in June for Sally Beamish’s Double Concerto for clarinet and violin (Distans) along with Martin Fröst. Her newest recording, 12 Stradivari, is a novel exploration of twelve nice Stradivarius violins and the repertoire these devices impressed. For this live performance, she performed her (loaned) Shumsky-Rode Strad from 1715.

Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony is extensively thought to be the best of his three symphonies and it has rightly grow to be considered one of his hottest works. His different two symphonies have some very high-quality passages and themes, however, to my thoughts, they fail to gel in the identical manner as his second. The symphony is stuffed with hearth and keenness and Pappano didn’t stint for a second, and by no means allowed any a part of the symphony to pull. The orchestra adopted his each small instruction. Pappano had augmented the string part to present the strings a full, heat bloom; the brass have been safe and well-blended and percussion crisp and forthright – the LSO at its highest; at this stage clearly vying to be recognised as London’s prime world-class orchestra. Pappano is aware of precisely tips on how to unleash the orchestra’s full sound; he was all the time in control of the composer’s effulgent, lush sweep of the melodic line. The strings have been at their most interesting within the contrapuntal scampering part of the Adagio. Within the third motion, it was Sérgio Pires’s high-quality solo clarinet solo which caught the ear. The fourth motion jogged my memory how central bells have been to Rachmaninov’s musical improvement; one heard the chimes in each the strings and percussion. This boisterous motion (Allegro vivace), with its thunderous climax, ended the live performance and acquired a deservedly large roar from a completely delighted viewers.

John Rhodes