It's not every day that a new viola concerto is added to the repertoire, and such is the reputation of composer James MacMillan and dedicatee Lawrence Power that four orchestras wanted a stake in the latest, given its world premiere by the LPO last night.
In several respects, MacMillan’s concerto refuses to conform to expectations. Muted, brooding timbres make for a surprising opening but suit the viola very well, and a frequently recurring quartet of two violas and two cellos enhances the atmosphere. Similarly resourceful scoring occurs in the finale, where a solo flute invokes the sound world of the Japanese shakuhachi. Also unconventional is the explosive opening of what is otherwise a lyrical slow movement and the viola’s disappearing act at its close.
It could be argued that such idiosyncratic touches stand in for true creative inspiration but it’s an attractive enough work and Power’s commitment to it was never in doubt.
Nor in Mahler’s Symphony No 6 in A minor was that of Vladimir Jurowski, who drove the heroic-tragic march of the first movement at a furious pace, such that the Andante, here placed second, came as necessary relief.
Both there and in the following Scherzo, Jurowski relished oases of calm, even if the tone quality of the London Philharmonic was sometimes a little coarse.
So concentrated and visceral was the finale, however, that any reservations about what had gone before were swept away.
