Tchaikovsky & Beethoven, CBSO, Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Valentine’s Day 14/02/24.

5✩✩✩✩✩ Review: David Gray & Paul Gray.

“Lots of Passionate Romance, and then some delightful Beethoven.”

Tchaikovsky – Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture

Tchaikovsky – Eugene Onegin: Letter Scene

Beethoven – Ah! Perfido!: Scene and Aria

Beethoven – Symphony No. 2

The CBSO Marketing Team clearly worked some kind of fairy-tale magic for this Valentine’s Day concert; the auditorium was awash with loving young couples eager to soak up a bit of romance.

The first half of the programme will not have left them disappointed. Conductor Vassily Sinaisky’s deep understanding of the Russian repertoire was clear from the outset in his reading of Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture. This was a beautifully crafted reading, conducted and played with precision, but never at the expense of emotional expression, and imbued with a strong sense of spontaneity. It built to a ravishing climax and a devastating, heart-rending conclusion.

Colours were bold and vivid, particularly from the brass section. This colouration may have been a bit too vivid for some, but this is music of visceral power where restraint is not called for. Indeed, it may be argued ‘Tchaikovsky’ and ‘restraint’ are two words that do not belong in the same sentence, unless that sentence also contains the words ‘total lack of’!

Welsh-Ukranian soprano, Natalya Romaniw followed the overture with the Letter Scene from the same composer’s Eugene Onegin. It is never easy for singers to deliver these mid-opera moments in concert setting with a convincing dramatic intent. Nevertheless, she managed to nicely capture Tatyana’s youthful naivete with charm and could not be faulted when it came to vocal delivery. Hers is a voice of considerable stature, and she uses it with intelligence. It was a compelling performance, and I am sure I heard a bodice being ripped somewhere in the auditorium……

Romaniw’s performance of the Tchaikovsky was characterised by use of an open and easy vibrato perfectly suited to this music. Cleverly, after the interval, when if came to Beethoven’s concert aria Ah, Perfido!, she seemed to move the focal point of her voice slightly forward, which had the effect of tightening and narrowing the vibrato without any loss of power or body. This was much more congruent with Beethoven’s early Romantic style. It is the mark of a skilled and sensitive singer to think to do something like this and have the ability to carry it off. Marvellous stuff.

The concert ended with more Beethoven: his Symphony No. 2. Less well known perhaps that the other eight, it has its charms. Sinaisky was, again, the consummate craftsman, creating an interpretation that illuminated the detail and its form. It was a bit like experiencing the most exquisite and elaborate marquetry through sound. Again, the CBSO responded to his touch to deliver a fresh and immediate performance.

I am not sure how this particular Beethoven fitted in with the ‘Romance on Valentine’s Day’ publicity around the concert. No matter. It was a well-balanced piece of programming and a top-notch performance. A really superb & exciting evening of glorious music from the glorious players of the CBSO, plus a remarkable singer and thrilling conductor.

Vassily Sinaisky – Conductor Natalya Ramaniw - Soprano