There are probably several good reasons why Tchaikovsky's Fantasy Overture, based on Hamlet, is neither as celebrated nor familiar as his equivalent treatment of Romeo and Juliet. It lacks the gripping, self-contained, dramatic argument and the memorable melodic qualities that mark out its counterpart as something special.
Yet the Hallé, under guest conductor Jac van Steen, delivered a performance that proved the piece is well worth resurrecting every once in a while. Van Steen perfectly captured the score's juxtaposition of tenderness and sustained tension.
The Hallé did not sound especially interested in being idiomatically "Russian" in the usual melodramatic manner, and this was also the case in a stimulating performance of Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No 2 in G minor. Instead, this performance of a notoriously challenging work was given a light and lucid treatment. The approach taken by Van Steen and soloist Raphaël Oleg to the first movement was fluent and eloquent, yet never overly sentimental. The Hallé achieved a perfect, transparent balance, presenting textures more readily associated with a chamber ensemble despite its size - not to mention the technical demands and complexity of Prokofiev's music.
The central Andante, featuring an ecstatically lovely violin melody over a pizzicato accompaniment, revealed underrated aspects of Prokofiev's artistic nature, such as gentleness, beauty and sublime expression. Van Steen and Oleg's conception seemed more Viennese than Soviet. The finale was a marked contrast, starting with a drunken swagger. Despite the impressively daring and animated conclusion, this modernistic display of virtuosity and radical ideas somehow seemed less compelling than the preceding elusive glimpse of Prokofiev the melodist.
If Beethoven had spoken in a Czech dialect and been of a more cheerful disposition, he might have written something a lot like Dvorak's Symphony No 6 in D major. In the opening movement, the Hallé was exuberant, affable and warm-hearted, while Van Steen's alert yet relaxed direction was free from self-consciousness. The principal flautist, Andrew Nicholson, shone in the evocative Adagio. The following Scherzo was relentless, its psychosis contrasting with a melancholic core.
The substantial final movement is arguably the most romanticised aspect of this symphony. Even though Dvorak's finale risks becoming long-winded, Van Steen successfully kept the Hallé lithe and lean, and propelled the music forward to an extrovert and thrilling climax.
· Repeated at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester on Sunday. Box office: 0161-907 9000.
