REVIEW: Britten Sinfonia perform recomposed Four Seasons at The Apex in Bury St Edmunds
Can it really be over 10 years since Max Richter’s reimagining of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons was first performed?
However long it’s been, I can’t imagine it was a better performance than Britten Sinfonia’s superb rendition at The Apex in Bury St Edmunds.
Before we got to hear Richter’s recomposed Vivaldi, we were treated to a rich and varied selection of compositions that audaciously juxtaposed music from the 18th century with that of the 20th.
Britten’s reworking of Purcell provided a fitting introduction to the virtual collaboration the evening had in store, while a concerto from Vivaldi offered a preview of the composer Richter so admires.
By the time got we to Philip Glass’s Company, the music had built to a transcendent climax, having presented the work as if newly minted, with a vibrancy and colour I’d not previously experienced.
Steve Reich’s Duet for Two Violins was less familiar, but no less rewarding, and surprisingly lush for those us that associate the composer with the sound of different trains.
The first half closed with the third Brandenburg Concerto, and was note perfect, if a tad over familiar, though this did emphasize the thinking behind Richter’s fusion of Vivaldi's best-known work with his own creativity.
Ably assisted by Thomas Gould’s astonishing violin playing, Richter has breathed new life into a work so familiar it can be too easily dismissed.
Richter’s composition allowed the company just enough of the original to demonstrate their brilliance, while injecting the work with unfamiliar rhythms and minimalist inflections that the musicians handled with aplomb.
We’ve come to expect faultless musical excellence from Britten Sinfonia, something they resolutely delivered, but it’s worth saying that what really set the evening apart was the acoustic perfection of the venue, which allowed the music to soar, making this the best classical performance, in the best venue, that I’ve experienced for a very long time.
