Page 193 - ASMF Marriner 100 Coverage Book

ASMF recorded all the music. In between, we heard memories of Marriner from long-standing
players, singers and composers. One got the impression of a generous man who loved nothing
more than nurturing new talent.

It could have been a relaxed trip down memory lane, but the ASMF – as if alert to that danger –
played with a stunning, edge-of-the-seat energy. The leader of the first violins, Tomo Keller, gave
all the minimal direction the players needed, leaving it to instincts honed over decades to do the
rest. And just as in the film, the Adagio from the Serenade for Winds was a moment of utter
sublimity, thanks to the heart-breakingly beautiful sound of oboist Tom Blomfield and the
combined winds of the orchestra.

Then on came the orchestra’s current director, American virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell. He gave a
fabulously high-stepping and brilliant performance of Saint-Saëns’s Introduction et Rondo
Capriccioso, and once again Keller and the orchestra were absolutely on the nail. Whenever Bell
played one of his tumultuous descents to a down-beat, they were with him to the millisecond.

Bell was also a soloist in the evening’s brand-new piece, which was something of a surprise. Rather
than commissioning an old friend of the orchestra’s such as Sally Beamish, the orchestra stepped
out of its comfort zone by approaching New York-based jazz composer Vincent Mendoza, who
came up with a double concerto for violin and drum-kit. The piece was unfailingly attractive in an
open-spaces, almost Copland-ish way, and drummer Douglas Marriner was a deftly light-touch
soloist. But it was too modest for its own good, coming to an end just as it threatened to become
interesting.

Finally came an astonishing performance of Brahms’s Second Symphony, directed by Bell from the
leader’s chair. Performances of this piece tend to bring out its veiled melancholy and relaxed good-
humour, and we certainly heard those things. But there was also an impatient energy thrumming
away underneath, which at the symphony’s tumultuous end became positively demonic. It was a
wonderful end to an evening which proved that Sir Neville’s creation has never been in better
shape. IH

No further performances