THE Bamberger Symphoniker is the resident orchestra of the town of Bamberg, Germany. It is held in high esteem internationally and has just completed a three-concert residency at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. I attended its final concert, conducted by its chief conductor, Jakub Hrůša. He is also Music Director-designate of the Royal Opera House in London.
These fine credentials were burnished and on display in a concert of only two works that were dramatically different from each other. The first piece was Dvořák’s cheerfully rustic Te Deum.
Hrusa took care not to open too loudly or quickly, thus allowing the reprise, at the conclusion of the piece, to have the fullest impact. It is scored for large orchestra, chorus, and two soloists: a soprano, here Kateřina Knežíková, and a baritone, here Adam Plachetka. The soprano provided exuberance to the opening and closing sections while the choir and baritone developed the melodies, subtle phrasing, and colouration to the inner more contemplative texts.
They both rose to the dramatic strength and stature of their parts, unifying this well crafted composition. We should hear it more frequently.
It was a joyous poised and dignified interpretation, in which the soprano soloist rode the waves of the orchestral and choral parts, and the baritone held a steady line, with the Edinburgh Festival Chorus in the latter parts of the piece.
The second work was Josef Suk’s Symphony in C Minor, Asrael. This was the same pairing used at the première of Suk’s symphony.
Suk married Dvořák’s daughter Otilie in 1898. Dvořák’s death in May 1904 was a bitter blow for Suk. He began composing a memorial piece bearing the name of the Angel of Death: Asrael. Otilie also died, and the piece became a memorial to Suk’s father-in-law and also his wife.
It is written for a large orchestra and is Mahlerian in scale and complexity, running to almost an hour.
It is in five sections, but with only one pause in this performance. The music is often barbaric with the timpani and base drum beating the depth of Suk’s grief and loss.
The orchestration seemed, to me, to be rather dense. There were also moments of filigree textures, but they were often stamped upon by the brass, drums, and cymbals. In the third movement, Vivace, the string sounds were brighter, but were challenged by agitation in the woodwind section.
I plainly admit that I struggled to engage with the structure and thematic development of this composition. It think it served as “psychotherapy through composition” for Suk. I resigned myself to identifying the sound world within a context of European composers: semblances of Holst and Richard Strauss!
Hruša balanced the orchestral sound well, allowing me to enjoy the voicing and tone throughout the sections of the orchestra. He was generous in his appreciation of the soloists and sections of his orchestra during the genuine roar of applause that followed the momentous silence that he held, allowing the end of this mammoth piece to linger in the hall.
I was intellectually adrift, but I did feel emotionally safe: something that I haven’t experienced since grappling with concert performances Mahler’s Seventh Symphony as a teenager. I must harness my humility to a keener understanding of this powerful symphony.