My first non-Prom concert for ages. A BBCSO concert at the Barbican Hall - part of their Sibelius Symphonies series.
Bartók, György Kurtág and Sibelius
Bartók: Dance Suite
György Kurtág: ...concertante... UK premiere
Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 in D minor
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C major
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Jukka-Pekka Saraste conductor
Hiromi Kikuchi violin
Ken Hakii viola
It has been ages since I last attended a concert at the Barbican, and I had forgotten how dreadful the BH foyer and circulation space is. Dingy and dismal. And at the moment it is packed full of naff Christmas market stalls. Except of course the lower level (BH stalls and Cinema level), which is so grim that even the Christmas marketeers won't venture down here. They have even tried to put another couple of bars down there (and the ticket collection desk is still there), but that horrible sloping floor and gloomy subterranean feel is still there. Just horrible.
Fortunately, it is a good concert. The Bartok is vibrant and sonorous. The Kurtag challenging, and maybe over long, but fairly rewarding in the end. However, somehow it sounds a bit derivative to me. I've heard this all before, surely. I can't help feeling that this sort of music has probably had its day, and this piece is so bound to the soloists that it puts me off anyway.
Fortunately, the Sibelius retrieves the situation. I'm still not sure about the 6th Symphony. Every time I hear it seems like the first time. It is quite impenetrable. The seventh, however, is quite wonderful. I am nearly in tears at several points. This is why I listen to live music.
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