Adám Fischer’s latest concert with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment will long be remembered for its exceptional Brahms, radical Dvořák – and the selfie to end all selfies. During the finale of the New World Symphony, a prankster pushed his way into the auditorium and bounded on to the platform, filmed himself dancing in front of the orchestra, and then happily allowed himself to be carted off by security staff, who had gathered at the side of the stage. Fischer shot him a look of quizzical amazement. The players carried on regardless and brought the house down.
An exciting, high-voltage conductor, Fischer subjected the symphony to a major rethink. Nostalgia was kept in abeyance. The performance crackled with electricity and drama from start to finish, sounding fresh and new-minted throughout. The slow movement, sparse and unsentimental, gazed despairingly into a comfortless alien landscape: the final fragmentation of its famous melody into a handful of solo string phrases was as disturbing as it was profound. A couple of moments were rough around the edges, and the shift from scherzo to trio was more a gear-change than a transition. But there’s no doubting the strength of the OAE’s rapport with Fischer, and their playing was terrific in its energy and commitment.
Brahms was represented by the Violin Concerto, with Viktoria Mullova as soloist. Hers is a familiar interpretation, and a great one, majestic yet detailed: a thing of long, self-reflective paragraphs, in which structural logic and emotional resonance seem perfectly attuned.
Fischer has a fine sense of the work’s grandeur and depth, and the orchestral playing was impeccable. The overture to Smetana’s The Bartered Bride formed the curtain-raiser, thrilling in its precision and elan.
