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Back in 2018, Ryan Bancroft jumped in as a last minute replacement for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales tour. As of September 2020, the US-born musician was the principal conductor. In the six years of his reign, he has made a strong and quiet presence on the radio scene, which is clearly shown in his last Cardiff concert of the season.
He opened with Stravinsky’s Song of the Nightingale, a symphonic poem that was developed from music as it became an opera and was eventually composed by Balanchine. Hans Christian Andersen’s story, set in imperial China, allowed Stravinsky to add unusual sounds, including a gong and a celeste. But it is the conviction of the king’s tragedy, which is shown by his first infatuation with a real nightingale – kindly played by the flute of Matthew Featherstone – who falls in love with a common type, which embellishes the result.
The Stravinsky created an imaginary combination with Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances, which also balances between light and dark, life and death, while the musical style of Dies Irae is followed by his voice of Vespers, with the sound of his Russian Orthodox heritage. Nowhere is Bancroft’s relationship with the BBCNOW cast more apparent than in the central waltz, moving and infinitely flexible, while at the end of the final dance the powerful sound of the tam-tam, seen, was another sign of the hidden details Bancroft found throughout. An emotional roller coaster, at least.
Between the two came Brahms’s Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, also filled with deep thoughts on life, conceived as a peace offering for violinist Joseph Joachim. Here, one’s attention was touched by the close relationship of the two singers, long-time friends: the orchestra leader, Lesley Hatfield, and the former principal singer, Alice Neary, each with the other in the use of Brahms’s clear music and in exchange with the wind musicians, often carrying the best music. The dance’s final rondo, its theme paying homage to Joachim’s Hungarian roots, went from small to large with grace and devotion that was a testament to his friendship.
