A saxophone sandwich bookended by brilliance

Isuppose Wednesday’s Scottish Chamber Orchestra concert in Perth Concert Hall could be described as a saxophone sandwich, with two works for this instrument bookended by two more familiar classical works.

Thing is, I found the contents not nearly as satisfying as the outer sections, at the same time taking nothing from the marvellous performance of soloist Amy Dickson.

The filling were concerti by Sir James MacMillan (a brand new world premier) and Glazunov, written in 1936 but with strong leanings to the romantic period.

MacMillan’s was brief and, I felt, rather clichéd with its basis on Scottish trad music. The first movement found him in jocular form with cascading laughter-like passages from the soloist.

He goes for feeling in the second movement with a captivating saxophone melody – and gets it – but once again with a work by Sir James I felt strangely unmoved by the whole experience.

The Glazunov had equal brevity but a more positive impact, with more substance, more colour and more instances of soloist and orchestra in tandem.

It also gave Amy more chance to exhibit her virtuosity, particularly in the cadenza that morphed into the last movement, a fugal finale that brought the concerto to a highly successful finale.

The outer sections of the programme? Utterly brilliant both in construction and performance, with the SCO – under Joseph Swensen’s bubbly and bouncy direction – precision perfect in every way.

Sibelius’ suite from Pelleas et Melisande is a collection of pen-pictures brought to life with marvellous orchestration.

This was an all-round performance of excellence but Rosie Staniforth’s beautiful cor anglais solo deserves special mention.

As for Beethoven’s eighth symphony which rounded off the programme, this was sheer class.