NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra / Martin James Bartlett / Jonathan Bloxham
Britten: Young Apollo / Mendelssohn: »Scottish« Symphony
Like light and shadow
Both are young and keen to confirm their place at the zenith of world-class music: Jonathan Bloxham is still something of an insider tip as a conductor, although he has been championed by none other than Paavo Järvi and has already stood at the podium of such illustrious orchestras as the London Symphony Orchestra and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Meanwhile, Martin James Bartlett – in his mid-twenties – was recently lauded in the BBC Music Magazine, which stated: »This expressive sophistication could bestow on Bartlett a firm place in the current new golden age of young pianists.«
For their debut with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, these two British rising stars have come up with a varied programme full of light and shadow, bringing composers from Germany and Great Britain together. The young Felix Mendelssohn wrote the first drafts of his Third Symphony while travelling around Scotland. Musically, he was particularly drawn to the mood of the dull, foggy weather. And yet it was probably precisely this that hampered him from continuing to compose there. Having travelled on to the sunny climes of Italy, he wrote, »The most beautiful season in Italy – who can blame me if I find it impossible to put myself back into my Scottish, foggy mood?«
Benjamin Britten, presumably accustomed to drizzly weather as a Brit, is said to have been left stricken by the blazing hot sun during his voluntary American exile in 1939. He wasted no time in writing a composition for string orchestra, solo piano and string quartet that captures this shimmering heat: »Apollo, called to be the new god of beauty. (…) He stands before us – the new, dazzling Sun-god, quivering with radiant vitality,« is how the composer describes his work in the programme booklet at the time. In keeping with social conventions of the day though, Benjamin Britten was forced to keep his fascination with male beauty under wraps. One possible reason why he did not have »Young Apollo« performed again during his lifetime?
Performers
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester
Martin James Bartlett piano
conductor Jonathan Bloxham
Programme
Benjamin Britten
Young Apollo, Op. 16
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56 »Scottish«
Subscription
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra Subscription G »Compact Classics«