New Russian Arts in London Cadogan Hall I8 November 2005

Shostakovich – Symphony No 14
Marina Poplavskaya; Stanislav Shvets

Schnittke – Choir Concerto – 2nd movement (Encore)

Musica Aeterna Ensemble – New Siberian Singers

Conductor – Teodor Currentzis

Teodor Currentzis, Greek born enfant terrible of Russian conducting, has been described in a much quoted recent article as a genius who aspires to be the saviour of classical music. Response to his performances to date has been sharply polarised, but his reputation drew a sizable audience, including an enthusiastic Russian contingent, to the Cadogan Hall.

Turning to the Shorter Oxford Dictionary for a definition of “genius” confirmed its primary meaning as that of a tutelary spirit presiding over destiny, and certainly Currentzis can be seen in that guise as far as his Musica Aeterna Ensemble and New Siberian Singers groups, who clearly give their all in performance for him, are concerned.

His conducting style is unorthodox and flamboyant (possibly in today's idiom it should be prefixed “extreme”), using his whole body to control the shape of the phrase. He did not employ a baton, but in Dido and Aeneas his posture suggested that he might feel at home with a staff of the kind that indirectly led to Lully's untimely death, and at times his stamping feet were plainly audible.

Dido and Aeneas was given sprightly treatment and proper emphasis placed on the rhythmic dance sequences, with the string section playing on their feet during one passage. The orchestral playing and ensemble were impressive, though I had some reservations about the timbre of the baroque guitar and theorbo.

Hibla Gerzmava gave a deeply musical performance in the title role, and it could have been a great performance but for the virtual absence of distinguishable words. Two English speakers had been recruited into the cast, George Mosley as Aeneas and Louise Walsh as Belinda, but if anything they served to emphasise the poor pronunciation of the others. Natalia Pshenichnikova as Sorceress was apparently torn between her wish to stand back and dramatise the role and her need for constant reference to the score. The smaller parts were very well taken, especially by the soprano who doubled as 2nd Lady and 1st Witch. The sizeable chorus (I counted 31 singers) were dispersed around the stage where they were able to group and regroup as they represented in turn the court retinue, fairies or sailors and were impressive throughout.

The London audience were unprepared for an encore piece before the interval so sadly a few missed the second movement of Schnittke's Choir Concerto performed with total commitment and breathtaking virtuosity – would that there had been time for the complete work. *

The second half of the programme was devoted to Shostakovich's 14th symphony, which the composer dedicated to Benjamin Britten. It's a dark spirited setting of poems from a variety of sources, akin to Mussorgsky's Songs & Dances of Death, especially poignant as at the time of its composition both Britten and Shostakovich were suffering the onset of fatal illness. In this piece there could be no reservations about the singers, from positions towards the centre of the orchestra both Marina Poplavskaya and Stanislav Shvets sang with great sincerity. The orchestra was again in great form and subdued blue lighting added a sense of drama (though, as Musical Pointers has so often had to note, depriving the audience of the possibility of referring to the translations of the eleven poems).

There was overwhelming applause at end with flowers all round – the conductor justly passed his bouquet to the cellist her noteworthy solo passage preceding the 4th song.

Serena Fenwick

* For anyone wishing to familiarise themselves with this compelling work I can recommend the Holst Singers' recording for Hyperion ref CDA67297