Review: PROM 68 – MAX RICHTER - RECOMPOSED, Royal Albert Hall

The Britten Sinfonia is unusual in the world of professional orchestras, in that they don’t have the now-traditional principal conductor as their figurehead, instead choosing to collaborate with leading exponents of the field. For this Prom, violinist Thomas Gould both played and acted as director; this harks back to the early days of orchestral performances, where the first violin tended to be the concertmaster - conductors only began to be more prevalent in the 19th century.

An astonishing programme was put together for this event, intertwining works from the 18th century with those from both the 20th and 21st centuries - all pieces for a string orchestra, covering every base from violin to cello to harpsichord (plus a guest vibraphone for the opener).

Remarkably, Gould’s bid for absolute silence before opening the concert with Lera Auerbach’s Sogno di Stabat mater actually paid off - the audience were fully engaged and clearly anticipating an enthralling night of music. This composition was inspired by Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater”, which is a hymn to Mary on the event of Christ’s crucifixion. At times a challenging listen, it does effectively evoke feelings of a mother’s grief and the pain this inflicts on her.

This piece was followed by Arcangelo Corelli’s Concerto grosso in F major, Op. 6 No. 2, paired with Michael Tippett’s Fantasia concertante on a Theme of Corelli. There was a slightly theatrical tinge to this performance, with the soloists set apart and the rest acting as a chorus of sorts. Given that Corelli was described as “the new Orpheus of our age” not long into his career, it’s slightly baffling that this particular piece hadn’t been played at the Proms before; the lush harmonies and striking solos certainly felt at home in the Royal Albert Hall.

What wasn’t made apparent beforehand was that both Corelli’s piece and Tippett’s fantasia would be played back-to-back; this is an area in which the Proms still need to improve - they may be accessible in a financial aspect, thanks to the £8 promming tickets, but they also need to realise that not everyone in attendance is an expert on the pieces they are about to hear, and that perhaps it might be useful to put the title up on the screens behind the orchestra for a short time at the beginning of the performance. This would be a godsend when soloists return for an encore, as this (for obvious reasons) isn’t listed online or in the programmes.

It obviously did become apparent part of the way through that we had moved on to a different piece, as Tippett’s is definitely not always as easy to listen to as Corelli’s, however you do hear a common thread running between the two works. The composers may have been separated by over two centuries, but the transition was absolutely seamless.

There are some who will sneer or look down their noses at more popular or well-known pieces of music, but I think even the snobbiest of classical music aficionados would struggle to find something dull or uninteresting about Max Richter’s reimagining of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. Used as the inspiration behind a puppet show at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse back in 2018, this was the first time the piece was performed at the Proms.

The genius behind it is that it retains Vivaldi’s most famous melodies and hooks, so everyone knows roughly where they are at any given moment (the backing screen also assisted here, with relevant graphics and colours projected) - it’s mostly the surrounding music that has been changed. What you really appreciate when you see and hear it performed live is just how high a tempo some of the movements and themes have: “Winter 1” is a particularly good example of this, and it certainly showcased the Britten Sinfonia’s talents.

It was such a treat that they unexpectedly returned to the stage, amidst thunderous applause, to perform an encore. They chose Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen’s Shine You No More, which has an Irish jig or shanty-like feel - a brilliantly celebratory way to close a magical evening.

The Proms are at the Royal Albert Hall until 9 September

Photo credit: Aga Tomaszek

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