Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E Flat Major, ‘Eroica’ op 55
The concert began with a rumbustious and highly volatile performance of Beethoven’s Third Symphony, the ‘Eroica’. Bernard Haitink is an excellent conductor and immediately, he set the pace for the symphony with incredible versatility. The opening movement sailed along quite well with the pressure points played with absolute perfection by the LSO who were consistently in command. The Funeral March was also beautifully done with the strings trembling accordingly and everything coming together rather beautifully. I also enjoyed the Scherzo and Finale with both movements excellently done and with the orchestra on true top form especially in the Finale.
The concert then followed on with two works by Brahms, the Academic Festival Overture and the Alto rhapsody. The former received a jolly and volatile performance with Haitink whipping up the tempo to quite a frenzy towards the end and everything sounded very well indeed. The Alto Rhapsody featured contralto Bernarda Fink who sang the lovely words by Goethe with great poetic feeling and almost surreal intensity throughout, the effect was pretty magical and very moving with the LSO strings also joining in and sounding extremely harmonious throughout.
Finally we had the much vaunted ‘London’ symphony, Haydn’s last numbered one in the genre which sounded very well indeed. Although the LSO is a modern instrument orchestra, everything sounded exactly as one should expect it and the players truly gave of their all especially in the outer movements. The slow introduction came through quite absorbingly and everything was carried out with a panache which was interestingly disarming on all counts.
The concert was a hugely enjoyable one in every department and one can only look forward to further efforts by Bernard Haitink and the LSO who can be described as one of the top partnerships of the moment now.
