Mendelssohn's overture Fingal's Cave (also called "The Hebrides") evokes wild nature off Western Scotland, and in particular the basalt cave on Staffa Island that was a popular place to visit at the time (the English poet John Keats was there in 1818). Schubert's two-movement Unfinished Symphony, by contrast, compresses Romantic melancholia and longing more effectively, perhaps, than anyone else's music has ever done. It was probably left incomplete because Schubert felt a third movement, by tradition dance-like and in 3/4 measure, could only spoil the mournful effect. In fact he attempted one, but abandoned it. Next Friday's concert (4 May at 7.30pm) also features a protracted Romantic work and a Mendelssohn favorite. Whereas Strauss chose to celebrate the Bavarian Alps without any thought of mystical transcendence, the very different Anton Bruckner, coming from approximately the same geographical region, also venerated the countryside, but saw it through Catholic eyes, believing it was evidence of the goodness and power of his Creator.
Bruckner was a strange individual, a self-taught rustic visionary deeply influenced by Wagner. Brahms, the presiding genius in the German musical world at the time, refused to speak to him, and considered his sprawling symphonies amateurish and uncouth. Bruckner persisted, however, and finally won over the Viennese public.
His Seventh Symphony is an astonishing piece, both mysterious and resplendent — if, that is, you can come to terms with the meandering style and considerable length. Bruckner's symphonies aren't perhaps for everyone, but the seventh is his most admired, and with Herbig again at the helm, Taipei can expect a memorable rendering.
The soloist in Mendelssohn's ever-popular Violin Concerto, which precedes the Bruckner, will be Russian-born Sergej Krylov. He's an artist who has acquired an unusual reputation in the work. One London critic in 2006 considered his interpretation perverse. "If Mendelssohn wrote 'piano' [soft] he played it 'forte' [loud], and the reverse." He gave, the critic considered, the slow movement "a lugubrious tempo." Well, we shall see. But this over-familiar concerto arguably needs something unexpected to shock audiences out of their contented smiles of easy recognition. Sergej Krylov may well prove to be just what Taipei needs.
* The NSO concert featuring Eine Alpensinfinie plays at Taipei's National Concert Hall on Sunday at 2.30pm. The NSO concert featuring Bruckner's 7th Symphony plays at the same venue on May 4 at 7.30pm
* Tickets for each concert are from NT$300 to NT$1,500. For more information call (02) 3393-9888 or visit to www.artsticket.com.tw
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