SCO Summer Nights with Karen Cargill Queens Hall Edinburgh 20th April 2023 Review
SCO Summer Nights with Karen Cargill at the Queen’s Hall Edinburgh featured a programme of music that, with its often light and upbeat moments, looked forward to the warmth of summer (well we can hope) and blue skies as the cold and darker winter months fade into memories once more. There is also that touch of Spring floating in the air and new love to be both found and lost in music and words this evening.
One of my main reasons for always reviewing whenever I can any concert by Scottish Chamber Orchestra is the combinations of music that are performed and often an introduction to new music to me, and also new composers. Sadly, the history of music in many genres, not just classical, has often had a problem in dealing with women composers and musicians. When it comes to “the arts” in all its forms, women all too often have had their talent ignored or at best considered some sort of trivial amusement that fell well short of anything that their male counterparts were capable of producing and, to make matters worse, documented history has all too often either relegated their achievements to little more than footnotes, or simply erased them from the historical records. With this programme of music, SCO corrects the history books for one female composer, Emilie Luise Friderica Mayer (b 1812 – d 1883).
I have to admit that this was my first introduction to the music of German born (Berlin) composer Emilie Mayer, and her Symphony No 1 in C minor (circa 1845-47) clearly has influences from her contemporaries, including of course Beethoven and, like so many other composers, there are moments of Mozart in here too. In music, everyone is influenced in some way by others (even if subconsciously) and this symphony is clearly the work of a major talent with a very individual style that also is moving into new areas that others were to follow in the years ahead.
This work is, for me, an opening introduction to the work of Mayer as she was a prolific composer who produced some 8 symphonies, at least 15 concert overtures as well as many chamber works and other music. Unlike many of her female contemporaries in music, she was in her lifetime acknowledged as a full time composer of music. This was possible not only by virtue of her own talent, but also the fact that she had the independence of her own wealth to not only pursue her own musical ambitions, but also pay for their publication without any outside help being required.
Love was truly both in the air and in despair with BERLIOZ Les nuits d’été, a collection of six songs based on the poetry of his friend Theophile Gautier. Here a now mature Berlioz, approaching his 40s, is far away from the obsession of his 20s, and his wife to be, Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson and the darker side of a fading love affair is reflected often in this music written for voice. This evening, the voice of this music was internationally acclaimed Scottish Mezzo Soprano Karen Cargill, and a display of the sheer vocal range and vocal power that a performer of this calibre is capable of brought much deserved appreciation and applause.
The final music in this programme was from the genius of Beethoven and his Symphony No 8 in F. A little bit like his symphony No 4, this work sits between two better known symphonies from him and it was even called “my little symphony in F” by the composer himself. This was a little joke to both differentiate it from his symphony No 6 (Pastoral), also in F, and the fact that at some 26 minutes, it is his shortest symphony.
It is a pity that Symphony No 8 in F is performed less than more popular works by Beethoven as it is full of surprises, full of little moments of both humour and lightness of spirit and you get the feeling that, despite some personal problems (hearing loss being one of them), at the time of writing this work, Beethoven was himself a little lighter in his own spirit (which could so often be darker).
Bringing all of these very different but strangely thematically connected works this evening with both a lightness of touch and an attention to detail was Chloé van Soeterstède, Conductor, who is making her very distinctive mark upon many orchestras across the world at the moment.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
One of my main reasons for always reviewing whenever I can any concert by Scottish Chamber Orchestra is the combinations of music that are performed and often an introduction to new music to me, and also new composers. Sadly, the history of music in many genres, not just classical, has often had a problem in dealing with women composers and musicians. When it comes to “the arts” in all its forms, women all too often have had their talent ignored or at best considered some sort of trivial amusement that fell well short of anything that their male counterparts were capable of producing and, to make matters worse, documented history has all too often either relegated their achievements to little more than footnotes, or simply erased them from the historical records. With this programme of music, SCO corrects the history books for one female composer, Emilie Luise Friderica Mayer (b 1812 – d 1883).
I have to admit that this was my first introduction to the music of German born (Berlin) composer Emilie Mayer, and her Symphony No 1 in C minor (circa 1845-47) clearly has influences from her contemporaries, including of course Beethoven and, like so many other composers, there are moments of Mozart in here too. In music, everyone is influenced in some way by others (even if subconsciously) and this symphony is clearly the work of a major talent with a very individual style that also is moving into new areas that others were to follow in the years ahead.
This work is, for me, an opening introduction to the work of Mayer as she was a prolific composer who produced some 8 symphonies, at least 15 concert overtures as well as many chamber works and other music. Unlike many of her female contemporaries in music, she was in her lifetime acknowledged as a full time composer of music. This was possible not only by virtue of her own talent, but also the fact that she had the independence of her own wealth to not only pursue her own musical ambitions, but also pay for their publication without any outside help being required.
Love was truly both in the air and in despair with BERLIOZ Les nuits d’été, a collection of six songs based on the poetry of his friend Theophile Gautier. Here a now mature Berlioz, approaching his 40s, is far away from the obsession of his 20s, and his wife to be, Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson and the darker side of a fading love affair is reflected often in this music written for voice. This evening, the voice of this music was internationally acclaimed Scottish Mezzo Soprano Karen Cargill, and a display of the sheer vocal range and vocal power that a performer of this calibre is capable of brought much deserved appreciation and applause.
The final music in this programme was from the genius of Beethoven and his Symphony No 8 in F. A little bit like his symphony No 4, this work sits between two better known symphonies from him and it was even called “my little symphony in F” by the composer himself. This was a little joke to both differentiate it from his symphony No 6 (Pastoral), also in F, and the fact that at some 26 minutes, it is his shortest symphony.
It is a pity that Symphony No 8 in F is performed less than more popular works by Beethoven as it is full of surprises, full of little moments of both humour and lightness of spirit and you get the feeling that, despite some personal problems (hearing loss being one of them), at the time of writing this work, Beethoven was himself a little lighter in his own spirit (which could so often be darker).
Bringing all of these very different but strangely thematically connected works this evening with both a lightness of touch and an attention to detail was Chloé van Soeterstède, Conductor, who is making her very distinctive mark upon many orchestras across the world at the moment.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
Please note that unless requested by performers/pr/venues that this website no longer uses the "star rating" system on reviews.