Review: BBC PROMS: SALONEN CONDUCTS 20TH-CENTURY CLASSICS, Royal Albert Hall

Esa-Pekka Salonen led a powerful concert at last night's Proms, conducting the exciting combined forces of the Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra and the Juilliard School Orchestra. Joined by violinist Vilde Frang, the young international ensemble delivered sharp, gripping renditions of 20th-century wartime masterworks.

Starting with Igor Stravinsky's "Symphony in Three Movements", completed in 1945, the piece has a hugely cinematic feel. Allusions to the war are inevitable, but there is a lot more to the piece than reflections on the turmoil of the time. It is an abstract piece, with a lovely piano part (played beautifully by Dohyun Lee) in the first movement, complemented by the rest of the hardworking orchestra. Salonen drove the rhythmic qualities of the score dynamically, particularly during the rousing finale.

Berg’s "Violin Concerto" followed – the twentieth outing at the Proms. Norwegian violin soloist Vilde Frang, playing without sheet music throughout, gave a performance both delicately meditative and thrusting. She has an almost improvisional quality to her playing, moving round to play to various parts of the orchestra at points, as though encouraging connections of feeling and pace.

Although easily one of Berg's most popular compositions, it is not always an easy piece of music to listen to. It is a poignant requiem inscribed "To the memory of an angel," commemorating Manon Gropius, the daughter of Alma Mahler and Walter Gropius who died at just 18-years old. But it is challenging for both orchestra and listener: atonality morphs to tonality and back again. It is moving, but also unsettling and Salonen pushed the orchestra to reach for every emotion.

Béla Bartók's "Concerto for Orchestra" has seen an incredible 32 performances at the Proms since 1949. As its titile suggests, the composition gives each section of the orchestra a chance to play as a soloist. The opening sonata began low and slow, rising to a much faster section, with precise work from the cellos and violins. Salonen embraced the playfulness of the second movement, with outstanding woodwind contributions. The third section is arguably the emotional core of the composition and the orchestra found all the depth of Bartók's 'night music', especially in the shimmeringly strong glissandos. 

The folk melody of the fourth is abruptly interrupted by a plodding tune meant to parody the "invasion theme" from Shostakovich's "Seventh Symphony", before returning to the melancholy folk tune. The fifth and final movement was a breathtaking interpretation, with racing strings, complex horns and a feeling of optimism and lightness.

The piece is a particularly brilliant showpiece for any orchestra and the wonderful combination of the Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra and the Juilliard School Orchestra showed just what exciting talent lies in both these institutions. 

The BBC Proms continues at the Royal Albert Hall until 12 September

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