UK Jazz News

Julian Joseph Trio with the LPO at the Royal Festival Hall

22 November 2023.

Julian Joseph, Mark Hodgson, Mark Mondesir and the LPO. Photo London Philharmonic Orchestra

Mark Mondesir has recently told the story of his miraculous recovery from cancer (link below). So it’s hard not to be affected above all by feelings of gratitude, admiration and wonder as one watches him play. He has, quite literally, been given a new lease of life. What stays in my mind from last night – perhaps marginal/partial in the larger-than-life context of a symphony concert – is the joy, the concentration, the sheer lightness of being, as Mondesir’s sticks scudded round the cymbals for one last time, his work for the evening done, at the end of the trio’s encore last night, eden ahbez’s “Nature Boy”.

The concert had started with a seven-minute piece by Julian Joseph with a real mouthful of a title: “Spiritual Fiction or Fact? (No. 5 of Symphonic Stories: The Great Exception)“. The piece has a feeling of fleet energy about it. The instrumental phrases being rapidly passed around the orchestra are reminiscent of Prokofiev in his “Classical Symphony” or “Lieutenant Kije” mode. The central section for trio without orchestra was in neat contrast. Away from all the complexity, contrapuntalism, newness and effort, it sounded like a reassuringly familiar walk round the block: a couple of choruses of “Rhythm” changes.

That short piece set the scene for the main work of the first half, Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”, ushered into life by a flawlessly fast glissando from superb Sydney-born clarinettist Benjamin Mellefont (some of us still can’t believe Bob Hill really has gone…). Julian Joseph’s approach to the work is to seek out the poetry and expressive depth in the piano part rather than its bravura; this was a touching and thoughtful reading.

The second half brought Saint-Saens 3rd Symphony, conducted from memory by Jader Bignamini, originally from Lombardy in Italy, who was making his debut with the orchestra. There was a really strong sense of flow and story, and a sense of relishing and enjoying Saint-Saens’s compositional craft. A good programme note by Andrew Mellor pointed out the significance of the dedication of the work to Franz Liszt (i.e. it is more continuous tone poem than multi-movement symphony, despite the name) , and also had me listening out for the piano part, which has the character of a series of flourishes, like a non-stop goal celebration. Organist Anna Lapwood has a sense of drama and pzazz second to none, and gave a performance with phenomenal energy, force, fun, accuracy and purposeful musicianship.

After the performance, Bignamini went round the orchestra and even managed to outdo what I am tempted to call the “full Celibidache”. He first brought each section leader or front desk to his or her or their feet… and then gave a separate bow for each full section, and took that two-stage process round the entire orchestra, section by section. And we still managed to be out of the hall by 9.20 pm.

Share this article:

Advertisements

Post a comment...

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Wednesday Morning Headlines

Receive our weekly email newsletter with Jazz updates from London and beyond.

Wednesday Breakfast Headlines

Sign up to receive our weekly newsletter