Haydn's Symphony No 103 (Drum Roll), composed during his second extended visit to England, is known for its audacity, humour and drama. None of those qualities were apparent in this performance by Gerard Schwarz and the RLPO. The potentially theatrical music was gentle rather than flamboyant. Schwarz's relaxed pacing neatly propelled the music from one animated episode to another without ever quite achieving the perfect blend of swagger and insistence.
But when it came to Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No 3, the orchestra was on top form: understated and supportive during its accompaniment of the solo violin, and blazing with colour and purpose in the tutti sections. Soloist Chloe Hanslip played on a Guarneri instrument made in 1735; its maker would surely have been astonished to hear it communicate Bruch's intricate and ultra-romanticised melodies in such a thick and dazzling vibrato. Hanslip demonstrated a musical maturity well beyond her years in blistering passagework, exact and coherent double-stopping, and her integration with the orchestra. The cumulative effect was not profound or loaded with emotional penetration - but part of the blame for that rests with Bruch.
Sibelius's Fourth Symphony, with its earnestness and flowing tension, was given a strong performance. Schwarz's sculpting of Sibelius's dark world was uncompromising and distressing, yet never harsh or unkind, and it was invested with ponderous pathos. In the last movement there were moments of radiance, although Schwarz made it clear that this did not make the work as a whole happier. Nevertheless, the non-committal yet firm ending suggested determination rather than pessimism.
Wagner is not often the source of light relief, but the overture to Die Meistersinger was a welcome splash of brilliance and relative schmaltz. The RLPO were really strong in Wagner's declamatory music, with playful woodwind, unbridled brass and lush strings perfectly compounded. The evening's climax was uplifting and irrepressible, even if the preceding repertoire had only sporadically reached such optimistic heights.
