Reviews: Maderna Oboe Concerto no.3 – Nicholas Daniel with BBC Symphony Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins
Italian Radicals review — charm and ferocity from Berio, Maderna and Nono
Perhaps the most stunning display in the evening’s showcase of ultra-modernist rarities was in Bruno Maderna’s Oboe Concerto No 3, by Nicholas Daniel, who wore silver-studded trousers to match the music’s sparkle. Against what sometimes felt like the aural equivalent of a modern gallery’s white walls Daniel threw hot splashes of colour, getting into arguments with the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s wind and brass, and exploring the full technical range of his instrument with such consummate showmanship it seemed as if it was all occurring to him in the moment.
BBC Total Immersion day at the Barbican gets political with ‘Italian Radicals’
The most immediately engaging was Bruno Maderna’s Oboe Concerto No 3, conjuring a kaleidoscope of flickering sounds against which soloist Nicholas Daniel created marvels of expression. Martyn Brabbins conducted performances of uncommon care and the orchestra was huge. One wonders: how will some of these big pieces have a future without the public subsidy of the 1950s to pay for them?
BBCSO/Brabbins: Italian Radicals review – politically charged, expressive and technical
Nicholas Daniel was the superb soloist, threading his oboe’s lyrical lines through the ever-changing orchestral tumult and unflinchingly meeting its extreme technical challenges.
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Barbican
The other highlight was a chance to hear music by Maderna, a great figure of Italian modernism and indeed a former guest conductor of the BBCSO. His Oboe Concerto No 3 (1973) was his last work, and perhaps hindsight allows us to hear its upwardly floating textures as valedictory. Yet a playful opening as the solo oboe pipes out high notes is echoed in more subdued fashion at the close. Nicholas Daniel was superb, catching the work’s whimsical fantasy, and the orchestra’s shimmering sea of pointillist delicacy was beautifully controlled by the conductor Martyn Brabbins.
Total Immersion: Review of Italian Radicals – Martyn Brabbins and the BBCSO sensation at the Barbican
Maderna and Berio were both fascinated by how far you could explore and exploit an instrument’s musical range – testing a performer’s skills to the limit. Based on the phenomenal oboe playing of Nicholas Daniel in Maderna Oboe Concerto No. 3, his skills seemed limitless. Daniel began with a series of staccato trebles and trills, emphasizing both his versatility and the versatility of the instrument. Maderna creates a captivating musical conversation between soloist and orchestra, as various themes weave their way between the two. At one point, Daniel even puts his oboe aside and creates sounds with a single reed. His dexterity and musicality were breathtaking, as was conductor Martyn Brabbins who brought out all the different colors of the work.
Total Immersion: Italian Radicals review – Martyn Brabbins and the BBCSO thrill at the Barbican
On the basis of Nicholas Daniel’s phenomenal oboe playing in Maderna’s Oboe Concerto No. 3, his skills seemed limitless. Opening with a series of staccato high pitch tones and trills, Daniel highlighted both his, and the instrument’s versatility. Maderna creates an engaging musical conversation between soloist and orchestra, as different themes weave their way between the two. At one point Daniel even puts his oboe aside, creating sounds with a single reed. His agility and musicianship were breathtaking.
Keith Marshall, Music OMH