NCH, Dublin
Mozart – Così fan tutte Overture. Vado, ma dove? Bella mia fiamma. Symphony No 26. Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio! Ah se in ciel, benigne stele. Piano Concerto No 15 in B flat K450. Ch’io mi scordi di te.
Here was an all-Mozart concert designed to be different. The designer was pianist Finghin Collins, now in his second of three seasons as associate artist to the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. His programme was full of unorthodoxies: arias as interludes, a concerto in the second half rather than the first, an early symphony, and another feature in its second season – the “wild card” or unannounced surprise extra.
Collins got most of his experiment right. A bit long overall, and he placed himself at a psychological disadvantage by needing to call back thirsty audience members half-way to the foyer in the mistaken belief that the interval had arrived. But recall them he did, issuing teasers from the stage about the secret identity of his “wild card”.
This turned out to be Moz-Art à la Haydn, a 1977 collage-like reworking of unpublished Mozart fragments by Alfred Schnittke in rare witty, irreverent mood. He scored it for two solo violins and small string ensemble, and with stage directions that include starting in darkness and the players leaving the platform as they play their last notes (à la Haydn's "Farewell" Symphony). Although interesting and a perfectly good programming touch, the performance was a bit less than self-explanatory.
Entirely understandable irrespective of your knowledge of Italian was the selection of mostly non-mainstream arias as sung by Dutch soprano Lenneke Ruiten. Her trademarks are sweetness, clarity and a seeming effortlessness, via all of which she always uncovered the expressive kernel of each song.
For Collins, there remains a gap between his conducting from podium and from keyboard. The latter remains his strong suit, as was clear in his lithe, sparkling account of the Piano Concerto No 15 in B flatin which he maintained balance and intensity with his pared-down orchestra featuring first and second violins on opposite sides.
