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An Ode to Santa Cecilia Milano
Teatro alla Scala
06/15/2025 - & June 12, 13, 14, 2025 (Roma)
Robert Schumann: Manfred, op. 115: Overture
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sinfonia concertante in E flat major, K 297b
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 68
Andrea Oliva (flute), Francesco Di Rosa (oboe), Andrea Zucco (clarinet), Alessio Allegrini (horn)
Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilia, Kirill Petrenko (conductor)
K. Petrenko (© Brescia e Amisano/Teatro alla Scala)
Rome’s Orchestra dell’Accademia Santa Cecilia ended its season with a glorious concert, first given at home and then reprised at Milan’s La Scala. Italy’s most prestigious orchestra at the world’s finest opera house, under the baton of a magician – one could not hope for more.
Kirill Petrenko, chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, occasionally conducts this fine ensemble. Despite the sporadic nature of their collaboration, Italy’s prime orchestra seems utterly under the Russian conductor’s spell. Indeed, the eclectic program chosen was a beautiful one. Two major romantic works were on the menu: Schumann’s Manfred Overture and Brahms Symphony No. 1. Juxtaposing Mozart’s delicate Sinfonia concertante for flute, oboe, clarinet & horn with two towering Romantic works allowed the orchestra to display its impressive scope and virtuosity.
The outstanding Manfred Overture began the proceedings with a sense of balance and precise dynamics. Premiered in 1852, this work was composed at a time when Schumann suffered from auditory hallucinations. Based on Lord Byron’s 1817 poem Manfred, it’s the most performed segment of this incidental music, effectively conveying the torment of the poem’s hero. Petrenko channeled the anguish in Schumann’s music, yet he eschewed excessive outbursts. This was a dramatic yet sober interpretation.
During a visit to Paris in 1778, Mozart wrote his Sinfonia concertante in order to appeal to French taste. However, the work was not performed and was eventually lost. The work as we know it today comes from an anonymous copy that surfaced almost a century later, in 1869. Though there remains some doubt about its authenticity, it is almost certainly attributable to Mozart. The Sinfonia concertante is an exercise in elegance and balance between four instruments. Petrenko’s choice of this work, not his typical fare, reflected well on the extraordinary talent of the four soloists.
The main course in this tantalizing evening of music was Brahms’ Symphony No. 1, so masterfully performed that it eclipsed most previously heard performances, live or recorded. Following such a rendition, one can easily understand why Petrenko is so cherished.
Brahms was 43 years old when he premiered his First Symphony in 1876. He waited this long, it is said, as he was in awe of Beethoven, not daring to compose in the musical format in which he excelled. Nonetheless, earlier works, such his Piano Concerto No. 1, his two Serenades and the Haydn Variations, may be seen as preliminary exercises in mastering symphonic writing.
In the symphony’s first movement, Un poco sostenuto - Allegro, Petrenko elegantly approached the deceleration to an overly slow tempo, however this was achieved with such finesse that it felt totally natural. While the tempo of this dramatic movement can drag, Petrenko managed to infuse it with loads of energy. Of the most famous recorded performances, Petrenko’s tempi evoked Furtwängler’s 1952 live recording. The first movement is rather long, but under Petrenko, one craved more, such was his captivating style.
In the lyrical Andante sostenuto, there was a sense of urgency accentuating the movement’s dynamism. The beautifully phrased third movement, Un poco allegretto e grazioso, was exquisitely charming and elegant. The symphony concludes with the fourth movement, Finale. In a clin d’œil to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, the movement changes midway from minor to major, expressing triumph and joy. Indeed, joy was an appropriate emotion to end the evening, a magical one to conclude the Orchestra dell’Accademia’s season.
Ossama el Naggar
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