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Review: A night of Nordic brilliance at Aberdeen Music Hall with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra

From Norway’s dramatic fjords to the natural wonders of Finland and Sweden, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra held the crowd captivated.

Ryan Bancroft conducted the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at the Music Hall in Aberdeen. Image: APA
Ryan Bancroft conducted the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at the Music Hall in Aberdeen. Image: APA

Some of Scotland’s best musicians played some of Scandinavia’s best music during a magnificent night’s entertainment at a packed Music Hall in Aberdeen.

From Norway’s dramatic fjords to the natural wonders of Finland and Sweden, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra – led by Californian conductor Ryan Bancroft – held the crowd captivated during a stunning 90-minute performance.

First up was Lucioles by Stockholm-born composer Andrea Tarrodi, a serene yet lively 10-minute soundscape which set the evening up perfectly.

It wasn’t the first time Tarrodi – winner of a Swedish Grammy for best classical album of the year in 2018 – has been played at the Music Hall.

The Swede’s works have been performed at the Royal Albert Hall during the Proms, the Berliner Philharmonie, the Wiener Musikverein, and the Barbican Centre in London.

Grieg the main draw at Aberdeen Music Hall…

But in all honesty, it’s having the Norwegian master Edvard Grieg’s name on the ticket that puts bums on seats.

Grieg has also had a good airing in the Granite City recently, most notably by the Aberdeen Chamber Orchestra in May.

Aberdeen Music Hall. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

Most of us are aware now of Grieg’s north-east roots. And most of us probably associate the great Norwegian with his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt.

But the Piano Concerto is up there with the very best works by – in my opinion – one of the more underrated composers.

It’s an exquisite piece, from the glorious opening, through sweeping melodies and folkloric touches, to the suitably climactic finale.

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra did it more than justice as they supported one of today’s most exciting young pianists.

American Eric Lu was just 20 when he wowed judges to win the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2018, and his insights and intellect have put him in high demand internationally.

He brings his power and poetry to the luscious Nordic melodies of Grieg’s timeless Piano Concerto.

…but Sibelius brought the night to a resplendent close

If Grieg is underrated, then Jean Sibelius is even more so.

Sibelius’s music is often credited with having helped Finland develop a stronger national identity when the country was struggling from several attempts at Russification in the late 19th century.

Indeed, his epic Finlandia is today regarded as the country’s unofficial national anthem.

But it was his Symphony No 5 which brought the concert to a resplendent close, with its vision of swans in flight captured with aplomb.

Norway (Ibsen, Munch, Knausgaard), Sweden (Strindberg, Bergman, Mankell) and Finland (Tove Jansson, Väinö Linna, Renny Harlin) have all long punched above their weight culturally.

Listening to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at the Music Hall on Saturday was a reminder of the artistic genius these frozen parts have given the world.

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