Among this year’s Proms premieres, one stood out well before a note was heard: Out of the Darkness, a new bassoon concerto by the 98-year-old Scottish composer Thea Musgrave, whose music first appeared at the Proms in 1960. Sixty-six years later, Musgrave remains one of classical music’s most eminent elder stateswomen, with her next opera debuting next year. Bassoon concertos, however, remain rare.
Premiere performance
The first performance emerged from a dark grumble of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields’ percussion and bass instruments, which bassoonist Amy Harman answered from the back of the stage, weaving a warm, baritonal vocalise through the orchestral duskiness. Only the solo violin line of ASMF’s director Benjamin Marquise Gilmore offered a lighter, brighter sound, until it was picked up by the rest of the violins.
The musical material consisted of beguiling loops and phrases ending in question marks, with Harman’s tone deliciously lyrical. Nothing was spelled out except her journey around the orchestra, the bassoon gathering rhythmic vitality as she walked to join the trumpets, then double basses, finally arriving at the front – a soloist’s standard spot – in time for the disarmingly near-tonal final chord.
Mozart and Britten
The rest of the programme mixed Mozart and 20th-century British music. A fast, ultra-precise performance of Britten’s Simple Symphony was followed by a pleasant take on Mozart’s Horn Concerto No 3 in E flat major, K447, with Felix Klieser as soloist. Klieser’s ability to play the instrument with his feet remains astonishing, but this should not be the most interesting feature of a performance.
Harman returned to the stage after the premiere for Elgar’s charming Romance for bassoon and orchestra, giving the period instrument ensemble a rare opportunity for voluptuous tone and a touch of Edwardian passion. In Mozart’s Symphony No 35 “Haffner”, K385, the ASMF were back on home turf, their playing neat, fleet-footed and tremendously classy. It was just a shame that the subtle drama of their approach could make only a limited impact in a space as cavernous as the Royal Albert Hall.
The concert is available on BBC Sounds until 12 October. The Proms continue until 12 September.
