It was very much ‘back to work with a bang’ this week for the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra after their summer recess. Rehearsals for two huge programmes have been tight: tonight’s Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto no. 1 with Janine Jansen and Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, and next Tuesday’s Mahler Symphony no. 5 and Berio’s tricky Rendering. With the added pressure of a European tour, taking in Berlin, Lucerne and Vienna; a new residency at the Köln Philharmonie, and their first appearance at the BBC Proms since 2017 – and their first with Klaus Mäkelä – the pressure is on.
The symphony
New faces both on and off stage, including guest leader Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay, resulted in a palpable ‘beginning of the new term’ feeling, perhaps most keenly felt in Mozart’s very bombastic Paris Symphony. Whilst the sizeable string section (including five double basses) successfully recreated the huge forces at the 1778 Paris premiere, everything just felt rather heavy and Mäkelä didn’t quite find the necessary light and shade.
The concerto
Jansen’s entrance for a much anticipated performance lifted spirits. After the critical success of last year’s Prokofiev recording with Mäkelä and the Oslo Philharmonic, it was almost like returning home to an old friend. This time, with some new guests at the party.
Jansen’s opening notes led us into a world of wonder, even if the orchestra stuttered a little. The fast and furious Scherzo felt more secure where the violin’s mesmerising harsh brutality was the order of the day. Delicate tambourine shimmers and the tuba’s entry moved things up a gear – their metallic swirling foreshadowing exciting things to come.
Earnestly plodding strings and rich double bass pizzicatos cushioned Prokofiev’s sumptuous harmonies. A twinkling harp and glassy piccolo set the scene for the tuba’s second moment of glory to accompany a flurry of cascading violin scales, leaving us with an eerie uncertainty.
The recording
A little history
The evening continued with a work close to the RCO’s heart, Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra. First premiered in 1944 by Koussevitzy and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the work soon found its way to Europe. And under chief conductor at the time, Eduard van Beinum, the work became a Concertgebouw favourite, performing it first in 1947, before fifteen performances the following year all over the Netherlands and the UK (Edinburgh); twice in 1949 in London and Bath; five performances in 1951 and six in 1954. All under van Beinum.
The love affair has continued to this day – the most recent performance last June with Marin Alsop. However, it is perhaps Mariss Jansons’ 2015 farewell concert recording which still tugs the heart strings.
Bartók’s concerto
Tonight was the turn of Klaus Mäkelä to let the virtuosic talents of the RCO shine and conjure that ethereal mysticism for which they are so renowned.
Emily Beynon’s icy flute fronds circled above masking the timpani’s attempt to propel us deep into Bartók’s lush romanticism. Guest principal trumpet, Giuliano Sommerhalder blasted forth and chaos ensued.
The snare drum’s lilting groove and sublime calm enveloped rasping bassoons and a comforting brass chorale. Mäkelä summoned a desolate and bleak world devoid of hope: the strings, high up the fingerboard sans vibrato, a lonesome horn and a piccolo’s plea.
All was not lost as Bartók continued his exploration of virtuosic and emotional limitations. Jaunty syncopated rhythms teased the crowds before fairground-like trombones swept us first inside a circus tent full of clowns and acrobats, followed by a trip to the ballet complete with fluttering arabesques.
Rock-solid brass and scurrying strings thrust things forward before an indulgent timpani glissando invited the strings to enter a newly regimented contrapuntal world. Swarming strings returned as the music flitted between scurrying fury and rustig calm. And how the double basses relished their bottom note. Hugely impressive brass cut through the folly, showing scant mercy.
I can only imagine this interpretation growing as both orchestra and conductor tease the acoustics of concert halls across Europe.
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This concert was reviewed in the Concertgebouw on Thursday 14th August, 2025
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