Page 336 - Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Coverage Book 2023-24

05 July 2024

GRAMOPHONE REVIEW: ELFMAN PERCUSSION

CONCERTO WUNDERKAMMER – CURRIE, ROYAL

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC

ORCHESTRA/FALLETTA

05/07/2024
Elfman’s Concerto for
Orchestra Wunderkammer was written
for the National Youth Orchestra and
clearly designed to stretch and stimulate
young imaginations – to say nothing of
techniques. It’s a kind of Rubik Cube of
orchestral possibilities. The title may
suggest a ‘room of wonders’ but the fun
part comes with the way in which magic
casements open on to worlds beyond it.

Percussion – some of it tuned – is the
engine room of the first movement
propelling us forward until in one
glorious moment a whole vista opens
before us – a kind of Bluebeard’s Castle fifth door chord sequence – only to vanish into
the ether as quickly as it arrived. And yes, before you ask, Elfman’s signature wordless
childlike voices are briefly in the mix, too. The second movement takes us deeper,
emotionally speaking, with mystical winds and then strings searching out higher
ground, and the third is a whirling carousel of triple-time with solo piano alluding
towards a salon-like decorum at one point. Collectively and soloistically the Royal
Liverpool Philharmonic under the dynamic JoAnn Falletta get to enjoy second
childhoods and show off as once the NYO so enthusiastically did.

The Percussion Concerto was like so much of this repertoire inspired and initiated by
the Scottish virtuoso Colin Currie and in time honoured tradition Elfman hitches
strings to percussion with piano again taking its rightful place in the family. It has a
lot to do here and spars enthusiastically with its fellow travellers, especially the tuned
variety. In the outer movements what you might call a maximisation of the
minimalistically motoric makes for an infectious confection which keeps Currie on the
move. Only the slow movement ‘Down’ seeks out repose as strings take the lead and