BBC Prom 13. Catherine Lamb and Tchaikovsky.

 

Programme:

Catherine Lamb. Portions Transparent/Opaque(36 mins)

BBC commission: world premiere (Portions 2 & 3)

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Symphony No. 6 in B minor, ‘Pathétique’(46 mins)

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Ilan Volkov, conductor

SKETCHES

Catherine Lamb 

A tonal landscape in three movements each one evolving until the whole ‘body’ is complete. The unusual tuning of the instruments makes the strings of the violins shrill, conveying a haunting, hollow quality to the notes. With the second movement the orchestra expands the voids between the spaces to form the nerves and sinews of the ‘body’ to produce a layered texture to the sound. In the final movement the shrillness is gone and muted tones hint of the wonderment of form and the transition from transparent to opaque is complete. 

 

Pathetique – Tchaikovsky 6th Symphony
 
The symphony is imbued with the passion of its title and is a prelude to Tchaikovsky’s death nine days after its premier.
 
First Movement:

The strings of the BBC Scotland Symphony Orchestra flow under the direction of the conductor’s baton; singing out with imploring waves of tenderness. Suddenly, a dramatic turn as the orchestra explodes with frenetic energy only to return once more to the sumptuous sound of the violins tinged with a melancholy. The end comes with a quiet diminishing woodwind to end exhausted.
 
Second Movement:

A dance of instruments which evoke passion and love from the lilting violins. All is joy and happiness as the entire orchestra sweeps along with the pulse of contentment. There is a lightness to the music which speaks of the two star crossed lovers meeting in the moonlight, dancing to the rhythm of romance. Once more calmness ensues with the faint and dying woodwinds.
 
Third Movement:

Glorious and immense repetitive phrases dominated by the strident woodwind section give way to   defiant swirling notes from the violins. Together the whole orchestra makes a stirring statement of belief in a better world.
 
Fourth Movement:

Emotion is to the fore as the violins speak of sadness and a fateful ending. The melancholic cadence of the orchestra rising to a crescendo then diminishes to almost silence. Powerful waves of sadness crash against the shore until there is no more emotion to be wrung from the orchestra and it is over.         
                 
 Mike Aburrow