Review: PROM 14 - ELGAR'S 'ENIGMA' VARIATIONS, Royal Albert Hall

“The Enigma I will not explain – its 'dark saying' must be left unguessed... further, through and over the whole set another and larger theme 'goes', but is not played." Prom 14 turned out to be something of an enigmatic night across the board, with the listener left to interpret or speculate about the greater meaning of the work, and transported to magical planes via Beethoven’s Piano Concert No. 3 in C minor, Noriko Koide’s Swaddling Silk and Gossamer Rain, and Elgar’s ‘Enigma’ Variations.

This concert saw another appearance from the BBC Symphony Orchestra, this time conducted by Elim Chan.

The premise behind Swaddling Silk and Gossamer Rain sounds fascinating: it was inspired by Mariko Asabuki’s novel TIMELESS. The piece was premièred at BBC Proms Japan ahead of this European debut – unfortunately, the perils of putting this in front of a British audience came through very early on, as many seemed completely unwilling to settle down and just listen.

From what little I could hear of the opening sequence (and whenever this was either repeated or elaborated on), it sounded utterly beautiful and very much reminded me of Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals in its ability to suggest the intended imagery of the composer. It’s a terrible shame that the audience chose these moments to create what can only be described as a ‘ca-cough-ony’, spoiling it for everyone around them – something that could easily have been avoided if some of the coughers had a bottle of water handy.

After a swift rearrangement, the programme continued with Jan Lisiecki taking the solo on Beethoven’s third piano concerto. Lisiecki is a sublimely talented pianist, and made this typically idiosyncratic piece seem like child’s play; watching his fingers glide across the keys at speed was rather hypnotic, and really drew me into the piece as a whole. Its orchestral introduction and accompaniment is similarly characterful, so it was a real pleasure to hear this group of musicians at the top of their game.

In a packed, interval-less schedule, we were even treated to an encore from Lisiecki – here he chose Chopin’s Nocturne, Op. 9 No. 2. This produced another masterful performance, albeit at a slightly more relaxing tempo, and provided the perfect bridge into the focal point of the evening.

Elgar wrote his ‘Enigma’ Variations between 1898 and 1899; across the 14 different movements, the piece gives a glimpse of how classical music would be shaped in the early 20th century, whilst also not straying too far out of its time. There is a dose of theatricality across the variations, which brought conductor Elim Chan to the fore – she was incredibly expressive, making it hard to take your eyes off her. It was also wonderful to see the Hall’s resplendent organ join proceedings, played magnificently by Richard Gowers.

Although there are 13 other variations, the one that will be instantly recognisable to most is number nine: “Nimrod”. It has an indelible link with the First World War, thanks to its use in Armistice Day and Remembrance services (this probably also prompted its use in Christopher Nolan’s 2017 film, Dunkirk), and is even more stirring to hear performed in person as the strings soar to their conclusion.

This Prom brought together a brilliant selection of compositions, which steadily drew the audience further and further in until its magnificent and moving ending.

The Proms are at the Royal Albert Hall until 9 September

Photo credit: Willeke Machiels

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