In Vain/London Sinfonietta/Emilio Pomárico, Queen Elizabeth Hall - music review

Georg Friedrich Haas’s in vain lasts just over an hour, of which 20 minutes is played in complete darkness
9 December 2013

Declared a “masterpiece” by Simon Rattle, no less, Georg Friedrich Haas’s in vain had already achieved cult status before its belated London premiere at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

The piece lasts just over an hour, of which 20 minutes is played in complete darkness. In vain was apparently composed as a response to the rise of the far Right in Austria at the end of the 20th century and the darkened auditorium is clearly symbolic. After an initial rise from subterranean rumbling to ethereal Ligeti-like twittering, the first plunge into darkness suggests a confrontation between reason, hope and enlightenment on the one hand, with reaction, oppression and intolerance on the other. During the second irruption of darkness, there is a sense of reaching for the light, though the sudden mid-air conclusion of the work offers little in the way of optimism. Perhaps the struggle has been “in vain” after all.

The players of the London Sinfonietta under Emilio Pomárico can only be commended in the highest terms — their memorising of so many notes and cues was a tour de force.

The actual building blocks of the work are of minimal interest. It is what Haas constructs out of them that is so powerful. A masterpiece? Perhaps. This remarkable performance, attended by a capacity audience, was certainly an event.

Broadcast on BBC R3 on Jan 18

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