Review: BBC PROMS: BEETHOVEN AND BARTOK FROM BUDAPEST, Royal Albert Hall

Bringing Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra back to the BBC Proms, last night’s concert offered a programme of Beethoven’s "Symphony No. 7 in A major" alongside Bartok’s dark one-act opera Duke Bluebeard’s Castle. 

The Beethoven piece was such a hit on its first performance in 1813 that its second movement, the ‘Allegretto’, had to be repeated immediately. The slow, lilting march is funereal, repetitive, and beautiful. It can get under your skin and prove deeply moving.  

However, in last night’s rendition the depth and emotion of the ‘Allegretto’ seemed to be lacking. The strings soared, the centrally placed cellos added a woody lustre, but something was missing. It was a serviceable and pleasant Beethoven, saved by its first ‘Vivace’, the dance, but was not memorable enough to Raise the Roof. 

The interplay of 1st and 2nd violins with woodwind underlines the spontaneity and inventiveness of the third movement, the scherzo, but the tempo rattled along in an uneasy contrast with what went before. Played at 36 minutes (it can run for as much as 45) the piece lacked a fully satisfactory core. 

Fischer is a very popular conductor, as seen by his reception in the hall, and he has a sense of reverence for his work that allows a command of the room. He took advantage of this to narrate/introduce the second piece of the evening, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, in which mezzo soprano Dorottya Láng and bass Krisztián Cser portrayed the mysterious Duke and his new bride, Judith, as they explore the mysteries of his dark and weeping home. 

Performed in Hungarian with English surtitles, this well-worn story crackled with tension and tone, while the orchestra offered colour and comment on the story as Judith opened door after door, horror after horror. Láng and Cser make their Proms debuts and display fine voices and engagement with the text, with Láng starting in seductive mode which quickly turns to fear, and Cser demonstrating fine tones and a strong sense of the psychopathic. 

This was a concert that received warm applause, but despite its lively and accomplished rendition of Bluebeard, the Beethoven couldn’t help but keep it grounded. 

The BBC Proms continue at the Royal Albert Hall until 13 September