One of the most striking things about Gianandrea Noseda's appointment with the BBC Philharmonic is that it was the orchestra that chose him. The strength of its near-unanimous decision swept aside all other competition. So far, the results have been inspiring, and the plaudits have been flooding in. Noseda's choice of repertoire is especially appealing; his double bills of Strauss and Mahler are a hit with orchestra and public alike. And though the musicians must have been exhausted by the end of Mahler's Fifth Symphony, they clapped their conductor with an enthusiasm that spoke volumes of loyalty and respect. Cheers went up from the audience the moment the symphony ended: there was no mistaking the warmth and appreciation felt for what had clearly been, for the vast majority, a stunning concert.
There were certainly highlights. The opening trumpet solo of Mahler's Fifth was one of them, as were countless beautifully turned wind and brass solos throughout the Mahler and Strauss's Tod und Verklarung. There can be no question that the orchestra gave its best, or at least that it intended to.
Yet there were an astonishing number of mistakes, as there were in the last Noseda concert. While there was no indication that the orchestra was physically exhausted towards the end of the Mahler, a kind of expressive tiredness did set in - a sense of being driven so hard in the louder passages that it ended up sounding numb rather than impassioned. Even the Strauss suffered from this overdone quality, and the transcendent glow that should have suffused its ending was spoiled by the relentless pacing that preceded it.
No one could accuse Noseda of not knowing the score: he even took the trouble to observe the long pause (usually ignored) that Mahler demands between the second and third movements, and paid special attention to the grotesque characterisation in the Scherzo. The Adagietto, too, was beautifully done. But music as intense as this can be allowed to speak for itself a little more; in this performance, the pudding was decidedly overegged.
