A fine sound

A concert by the
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
reviewed by MIKE WHEELER

The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra makes a fine sound -- the smoothness of the woodwind was particularly evident at the start of Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, as was the firm but also transparent string sonority. The first appearance of the love theme had a particularly piquant darkness, coloured to just the right degree by the cor anglais. Sadly, polished orchestral sound seems to have been conductor Gabriel Chmura's main preoccupation. The final chords of Romeo and Juliet sounded oddly diffuse and not at all tragic.

Igor Tchetuev, fourth prize-winner at the 2003 Leeds competition, had an uphill struggle to inject any sense of fun into Saint-Saëns's Piano Concerto No 2. His big opening solo had commanding power and authority, and his lucid finger-work was a delight throughout. But the central scherzo, light and nimble though it was from both soloist and orchestra, was rather unsmiling. A somewhat steadier tempo might have helped give the rhythms the lift and bounce they need.

But it was the performance of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique which really put the dampers on the evening. To turn in a reading of such extraordinary dullness -- in this of all pieces! -- was just plain perverse. Again, no complaints about the playing on a technical level (give or take the odd horn fluff), but as far as any emotional commitment went it simply didn't catch fire. The E flat clarinet solo in the finale, nowhere near vulgar enough, was all too symptomatic.

Then came the encore, the Mazurka from Moniuszko's opera Halka. Suddenly they were a different orchestra, playing with all the fire and commitment missing earlier. Why?