LSO Premieres Matthews's Oboe Concerto with Chan Conducting at Barbican
The London Symphony Orchestra delivered a compelling performance at the Barbican Hall in London, premiering Colin Matthews's new oboe concerto. The event featured principal oboe Olivier Stankiewicz as soloist and was conducted by Elim Chan, who led the orchestra without a baton, showcasing her dynamic and clear direction.
Matthews's Milestone Composition
Colin Matthews, a multifaceted figure in British music as a composer, teacher, and administrator, marked his approaching 80th birthday with this premiere. His oboe concerto, written for the LSO and Stankiewicz, follows his 2009 Violin Concerto and demonstrates an intensified structural vision. The piece is a single continuous movement, launching with an upward flourish from the oboe and maintaining a dense, combative dialogue between soloist and orchestra.
Stankiewicz's agile playing was a constant presence, navigating challenging textures that included jazz-tinged clarinet and seductive cor anglais parts. The concerto concludes abruptly, offering no resolution but instead presenting a heroic struggle with musical definitions, far removed from traditional English pastoral associations.
Chan's Commanding Leadership
Elim Chan conducted with compelling clarity, her physicality on the podium—moving like a boxer with raised fists—emphasizing a deep internal logic in the music. Her interpretation of Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances focused on symphonic continuity, weaving through waltzes, the Dies Irae chant, and themes from the composer's First Symphony without fantastical embellishments.
In Bartók's Dance Suite, Chan maintained structural integrity, allowing the glittering woodwind solos and grotesque flickers to shine without distorting the underlying architecture. Her baton-free approach highlighted a precise marshalling of the orchestra, ensuring a cohesive and dynamic performance throughout the evening.
Audience and Critical Reception
The premiere was met with interest from classical music enthusiasts, reflecting Matthews's embedded role in British musical life. The LSO's collaboration with Stankiewicz and Chan underscored a commitment to innovative programming, blending new works with established repertoire like Rachmaninov and Bartók to explore themes of history and identity in music.
