Classical music: Irish Chamber Orchestra - UCH, Limerick

4/5

Russian-born pianist Igor Levit has rocketed to fame collecting reviews laden with superlatives marking him out as one of the brightest stars in the piano firmament. So there was a heightened sense of anticipation at UCH, Limerick when Levit joined the Irish Chamber Orchestra in its exploration of Mendelssohn’s oeuvre under Jorg Widmann.

After a brief arpeggio, Levit, leaned in close over the keyboard and smiled as if to coax the sound out of the house Steinway and opened a musical dialogue with the orchestra in Mendelssohn’s second concerto.

The performance was distinguished on both sides with a delicacy of touch, lyricism and range of dynamic colour that was everything you could ask for. Sustained applause was rewarded with an encore. A polka from The Golden Age by Shostakovich, a frothy miniature executed with meticulous precision.

As they approached the conclusion of the Mendelssohn project, the ICO embarked on another, exploring the works of Weber bookending the programme with symphonies by both German masters. For Mendelssohn’s ‘String Symphony no 12’, the ICO took a more tempered, less exuberant approach than in their renditions of earlier symphonies.

The wind section sparkled in Weber’s second Symphony with fine solo work from principals. Unfair perhaps, to single out one but the remarkable tone quality of Sunghyun Cho’s flute rang out clearly in the excellent acoustic of UCH.

Levit was again pressed into service at the celesta for Widmann’s arrangement of ‘Andante from Clarinet Sonata in E Flat’. Arranged for string orchestra and harp, it was a sweet sugar kick with gorgeous solo work from Widmann on clarinet.

Among the old, there was something new. Widmann’s own lively string quartet, titled ‘Hunting Quartet’ demanded a lot of his players and took quite a heavy toll on their bow hair. In addition to employing unconventional techniques, players hooped and hollered and threw a few shapes. With the house lights down, it added a refreshing theatricality.

Dressed in their smart new outfits, dark suits and gold ties and elegant long gowns, the ICO is not only Ireland’s most polished cultural export but also the best dressed to boot.