Shibe sparkled in enchanting show of music from Spain and Russia
BBC SSO & Sean Shibe City Halls, Glasgow JJJJJ
Thursday afternoon’s BBC SSO concert spotlighted two vibrant musical personalities: Scots-born guitarist Sean Shibe and Bulgarian-born conductor Delyana Lazarova. Where Lazarova’s penchant for bighearted Russian repertoire – by Rimsky-korsakov and his pupil Igor Stravinsky – ensured meaty bookends to the programme, the sparkling intimacy of Shibe’s solo playing in Spanish concertos by Rodrigo and Francisco Coll filled its inner moments with exotic Iberian charm.
Lazarova’s chemistry with the SSO was exhilarating from the start. Rimskykorsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol opened with an explosive adrenalin rush that hardly diminished. Dazzling solo interaction between leader Kanako Ito, clarinettist Adam Lee, harpist Helen Thomson and flautist
Matthew Higham gave added sparkle.
Shibe’s first appearance was in a newly reduced version for guitar and chamber orchestra of Coll’s 2017 concerto Turia. Inspired by a dried-out Valencia riverbed, now adorned with flowers, fountains and cafes, the five movements are like snapshots of its transformed existence. All were exquisitely captured in a gorgeously perfumed performance.
Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez proved just as enthralling, the orchestra’s bright, breezy, sometimes
mischievous countenance initially matched by Shibe’s rhythmic incision, its buoyancy countered by the probing lyricism and exotic flavourings of the famous Adagio.
The concert closed with Stravinsky’s suite The Firebird, the SSO responding to Lazarova’s clear intentions with electrifying and expressive unity. Amid the applause, Lazarova beckoned SSO cellist Harold Harris to his feet, acknowledging his retirement after 33 years with the orchestra. A generous gesture.