You can never fail with the classics

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra’s Viennese Gala under conductor Ben Gernon was a wonderfully invigorating start to music in Perth in 2017.

Staged in Perth Concert Hall on January 8, the RSNO began with an Overture, that to Johann Strauss II’s operetta Die Fledermaus. A little brash in parts, though with beautiful oboe solos from Adrian Wilson, Ben Gernon gave it good lively phrasing and the RSNO responded with insightful detail.

Also from The Bat, the soloist for the concert, soprano Jennifer France, first settled in with Adele’s Laughing Song.

Eduard Strauss’ Elekrisch Polka had a lively step and brought delighted applause from the very full Perth Concert Hall. Jennifer France returned with just the right tone for the swoony My Dream by Emmerich Kálmán, the RSNO responding with silky string sound.

Strauss II’s Perpetuum mobile had élan and clarity of detail, but ended with a simple fade – no drawled Und so weiter! (And so on!) from the conductor or even better, a repeat of the piece.

Ben Gernon showed the more poetic quality of Josef Strauss’ Waltz Music of the Spheres. We could have had more of it, if he had taken the marked repeats.

Jennifer France brought out the charm and sentiment of Zeller’s Schenkt man sich Rosen with its flowing waltz and the Polonaise from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, though hardly strictly Viennese, ended first half with swagger and colour in its snappy Polish rhythms.

A really silly piece of music started part two: Eduard Strauss’ chopping up of Bizet in his Carmen Quadrille where foreshortened cadences did violence to the glorious tunes.

The quality performances continued through Mascagni’s Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana, of telling simplicity in emotional directness, vivacity in Strauss II’s Hunt Polka, a nod to Rossini in Strauss I’s Sperl Galopp, a pictorially vivid Thunder and Lightening Polka and a winning Blue Danube.

With Jennifer France, now in a slinky, glittering, black and gold strapless number, she interlaced Lehár’s Meine Lippen, the stratospheric coloratura of Richard Strauss’ Amor, the rare coloratura version of Strauss II’s Waltz Voices of Spring and, as start of the encores, a melting version of Lehár’s Vilja from The Merry Widow.

Finally, the piece that ends all Viennese Galas, with excellent clapping control from Ben Gernon and a joyously responsive Perth audience: the Radetzsky March. IAN STUART-HUNTER