The Berlin Philharmonic (Photo: Berliner Philharmoniker/Lena Laine)
There are certain orchestras whose arrival at the BBC Proms feels like an event in itself. The Berlin Philharmonic unquestionably belongs in that category, and its first appearance at the Royal Albert Hall this season brought an enticing pairing of two extremely familiar works: Elgar’s Enigma Variations and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F minor. Neither lacks for performances in London, but under music director Kirill Petrenko both emerged sounding remarkably fresh.
Perhaps there was something to be gained from hearing Elgar played by an orchestra without the accumulated baggage that can accompany British performances of his music. Petrenko’s account of the Enigma Variations was wonderfully unfussy. There was no attempt to impose a grand interpretative statement on the work; instead, the Berliners allowed its extraordinary variety of character to speak for itself.
From the outset, the balance was impeccable. Inner lines registered without ever seeming artificially highlighted, while the strings possessed that combination of richness and transparency which remains one of the orchestra’s defining qualities. Each variation acquired an individual personality without disrupting the trajectory of the work as a whole.
Petrenko was particularly successful in resisting the temptation to overplay ‘Nimrod’. Passionate and expansive, it nevertheless avoided the wallowing sentimentality that can sometimes engulf the music. Its climax grew naturally from what had preceded it and was all the more moving for Petrenko’s refusal to linger unnecessarily.
Kirill Petrenko & the Berlin Philharmonic (Photo: Berliner Philharmoniker/Lena Laine)
All sections of the orchestra were at the top of their game, but Vincent Vogel deserves particular mention for the way he responded to Elgar’s considerable demands on the timpani, not least in the mysterious thudding rolls of the penultimate variation, with their suggestion of a distant ship’s engines. What remained striking throughout the performance was the sense of a collection of exceptional musicians listening intently to one another.
Petrenko himself is a galvanising presence on the podium. Eminently watchable, his gestures can become almost balletic, but there is nothing remotely decorative about them. Every movement seems connected to the sound he wants from the orchestra, and the response from his players is instantaneous. That relationship became even more apparent after the interval.
Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 erupted into life with tremendous energy, its opening horn calls delivered with thrilling power and assurance. The first movement was vivid and urgent, Petrenko driving the music forward while still allowing its abrupt changes of mood to register. Then came an incident that provided an unexpected piece of Proms theatre: at one particularly energetic moment, his baton flew from his hand and landed among the orchestra.
Petrenko barely seemed to notice. Concertmaster Noah Bendix-Balgley retrieved it without fuss, while the conductor simply continued using his hands. In fact, for the remainder of the movement and the next two, the absence of a baton seemed almost irrelevant. Petrenko shaped and moulded the music with his fingers, arms and entire body, conjuring an astonishing range of sonorities from players who appeared permanently alert to his slightest gesture.
The Berlin Philharmonic (Photo: Berliner Philharmoniker/Lena Laine)
The ‘Andantino’ brought playing of a very different kind. Albrecht Mayer’s opening oboe solo was extraordinary: plaintive, beautifully etched and seemingly suspended in the vast space of the Royal Albert Hall. Around it, the orchestra created a wonderfully atmospheric landscape, demonstrating that its formidable power is matched by an ability to play with exceptional delicacy.
The pizzicato ‘Scherzo’ brought another display of collective virtuosity, before Petrenko finally reclaimed his baton for the last movement. Perhaps he had been saving it for when it was really needed. The finale was colossal – fast, gutsy and driven with tremendous momentum. Yet for all the volume the Berliners can produce, the effect never descended into noise. Brass, percussion, woodwind and strings remained astonishingly clear even at the most frenetic moments.
By the closing pages, the performance had acquired an almost unstoppable force. Petrenko pushed hard, the orchestra responded in kind, and Tchaikovsky’s final bars exploded into the hall with exhilarating impact.
Calling any ensemble ‘the best orchestra in the world’ is an invitation to an argument that can never really be settled. There are too many variables, too many great orchestras and too many different qualities by which to judge them. But performances such as this make the case for the Berlin Philharmonic extremely difficult to resist. The technical standard was breathtaking, certainly, but what mattered more was what those players did with it: they listened, responded, took risks and played with an intensity that made two of the most familiar works in the repertoire feel anything but routine.
For one evening at the Royal Albert Hall, at least, the argument seemed pretty conclusive.
The 2 September Prom can be streamed from BBC Sounds.
Full details of all BBC Proms events can be found at bbc.co.uk.