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LSO conducted by Kent Nagano with Robert Gambill tenor & Anne Sofie von Otter mezzo soprano The Barbican, 7.30 2 February 2003 Stravinsky Chant du Rossignol Mahler Das Lied von der Erde Stravinsky's Chant de Rossignol, with its opposition ofreal and mechanical nightingales, depends possibly too much on its complicated story, and I have preferred the broken-backed opera even though there is a gulf between the musical idiom of the first act and the others. Re-acquaintance with George Benjamin's Ircam collaboration, Antara, was welcome for its conceptual originality and integration of sound heard outside the Pompidou Centre, especially his creation of idealized pan-pipes originally requiring the transportation of an enormous, unique research computer, nowadays mediated by electronic keyboards without fuss or undue expense. I attended one of the Nimbus recording sessions, and wrote at length about what has subsequently been termed George Benjamin's episode of 'flirtation' with electronics. He went back to normal instruments, pen and paper, and recently spoken about the strain of composing to an ideal which demands that every note can be accounted for and satisfy the composer before he is ready to deliver the score, usually close to the deadline. Expectations were overturned in this concert. Kent Nagano gave full value to the orchestral marvels ofMahler's Das Lied von der Erde, his approach not far away from that of Bruno Walter, whose first Vienna recording on 78s introduced me to this composer, to whom I remained hooked during the years to come, seeking out rare opportunities to hear his huge symphonies, one by one. Mahler's current popularity was impossible to envisage during those early post-war years. Richard Whitehouse, in a well attended introductory talk, talked about the chinoiserie which was espoused by Stravinsky and Mahler at a time of political turbulence in the far East. He disclosed an intriguing nugget of information about the premiere under Walter, when Das Lied was preceded by an English work, Dame Ethel Smythe's "Hey, nonny no"! There's something for programme devisers with a penchant for historical context to think about. Nagano's flexible, but never idiosyncratic, tempi allowed the LSO wind soloists to give full expression to their marvellous solo spots. The problem however was the versatile and indeed musically omniverous Anne Sofie von Otter, surely not in best voice that evening. She sounded unsettled in Der Einsame, the voice tight and edgy, excessive vibrato tending to spoil the melodic line. Things went better in Von der Schonheit, especially when the handsome boys on horseback erupted onto the scene, and from seats near back stalls there was much to enjoy in Der Abschied; one felt that had there been a second performance planned, this might have risen to greatness. But hearing the BBC recording of the concert next night one was again troubled by von Otter's vibrato, more prominent on Radio 3 than in the hall, so perhaps Das Lied von der Erde just does not suit Anne-Sofie. But the especial miracle of this performance, which would have been lost to radio listeners, was Robert Gambill's confident, intelligent and uncommonly relaxed account of the daunting tenor songs, which leave many a tenor red in the face and struggling to be heard over the welter of orchestral sound. Gambill projected with a fine, even somewhat baritonal tone yet scaled the heights with ease and neither seemed to strain, nor was ever disadvantaged without the help of microphones to adjust the balance, as is the common case on recordings. He covered the gamut from charm, depicting young people on green and white porcelain, to vehemence as the springtime drunkard and played lightly with the rhythms to convey the witty irony of the texts. If the voice is not overtaxed and holds its quality, Robert Gambill should be one of the great heldentenors of his generation.
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