Romantic classics on Convent Strings

By Christopher Wall 

A dozen string players from the European Sinfonietta opened the Philharmonic Society season with a Government-sponsored programme drawn from the Romantic repertoire.   

Joaquín Turina combined national and regional Spanish themes with French training, often sounding more like the Ravel and Debussy who inspired him, than his obvious national models of Falla and Albéniz as the Convent Ballroom warmed to the shimmering opening of his La Oración del Torero, and, though the players were sympathetic to the wistful Andalusian melodies, the drama of a bullfighter contemplating his imminent danger was lost to a harmonious whole.    

We heard a more expansive interpretation of the Nocturne from Borodin’s 2nd String Quartet, popularised as a love song in Broadway’s Kismet.    

The solo cello opening was dark and exposed, and the measured tone from the other musicians showcased the calm intimacy of Borodin’s writing, largely checking sentimental indulgence. 

I wouldn’t consider Britten’s Simple Symphony to be Romantic, though the version we heard was sympathetic to that broad mindset. The Allegro was vigorous and spirited, and the Pizzicato a little sombre, though pleasantly textured.    

The slow movement was occasionally ponderous, changing direction whenever the feeling threatened to settle. The finale was grand, mixing idioms from folksy to operatic.   There have been clearer versions of this symphony, but the Sinfonietta overcame the technical challenges without losing the sense of youthful fun. 

The prelude to Grieg’s Holberg Suite possessed a drive that practically asked the audience to check their seatbelts. The Sarabande was equally confident, led by a masterly cello, and featuring elegant colouring.    

The Gavotte was playfully restrained, leaving the folk dancing to the violas. The Air was a little overwrought, a glorious sound that felt at odds with the rest of the Suite. The final movement was however back on programme: rhythmic, virtuosic, sometimes raucous, frequently loquacious. 

The light touch of Director/violinist Lilit Poghosyan was especially prominent in Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances, steering the Sinfonietta between the poles of exotic otherness and rigid classicism.    

Within the syncopation of the Stick Dance there was an echo of an ancient highland. In One Spot was irresistible, if suggestively Orientalist, while the rhythmically challenging Dance from Bucsum was tightly managed.    

The final dance was built up with excellent control feigning spontaneous abandon. 

A Strauss Pizzicato encore completed an evening with broad appeal, and enough originality for the purists.