On the 31 January, Jakub Hrůša conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre in London. The programme featured Pavel Haas’ Scherzo triste, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major with pianist Jonathan Biss and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11 in G minor ‘The Year 1905’:
“Electrifying Shostakovich…The Royal Opera’s next music director achieves blazing results in a rich programme…the extraordinary impact of Jakub Hrůša, now recognised as one of the greats by British audiences… The BBC Symphony Orchestra burned for him in fullest focus…I wonder if he could sense the intensity of the audience behind him. The air in the hall was electric…He knows how to hold a crowd, too: the bell was allowed to resonate into silence before the entire audience rose almost instantaneously to its feet” – David Nice, The Arts Desk, 5*
“Stunning Shostakovich in a five-star concert…The standing ovation at the end — rare at the Barbican — suggested an audience overwhelmed not just by the sonic assault but also gripped by the almost cinematic projection of detail…the cheers surely also acknowledged the Czech conductor Jakub Hrusa’s superb shaping — his perfect judgment of when to let the hounds loose and when to whittle the sound to an eerie half-life, chilling in its sepulchral hopelessness” – Richard Morrison, The Times, 5*
“Hrůša here confirmed his reputation, as fine a conductor as we now have. Rarely has there been so palpable a sense of musical and physical energy sending a charge from podium to players, and out into the auditorium. As the final tocsin bell of the work faded over the snow-strewn and blood-soaked scene, many rose to acknowledge this vivid experience” – Roy Westbrook, Bachtrack
“A night of power and precision from Jakub Hrůša and the BBC SO…From the first hushed notes to the final, thunderous climax, Friday night’s concert at the Barbican was an evening of music that commanded attention and left the audience spellbound. Under the inspired baton of Jakub Hrůša, the BBC Symphony Orchestra delivered an evening of intensity, precision, and emotional weight…The highlight of the evening…was a truly searing account of Shostakovich’s Symphony No.11 – perhaps the most blistering account of any of his symphonies I have ever experienced in a concert hall… an electrifying, full-throttle ride…it was clear this was going to be a performance of exceptional dramatic scope. Hrůša has a unique ability to shape long musical lines while keeping the tension at a knife’s edge, and here he marshalled the BBC SO into delivering an account that was both viscerally thrilling and deeply moving. The sheer sonic range was astonishing… Hrůša had the players eating out of his hand, drawing an astonishing level of detail and expressive depth from the orchestra. Throughout the performance, the balance was impeccable – every section of the BBC SO shone, and I do not think I have ever heard them play this well. The final moments, with their relentless momentum and sheer sonic weight, had an almost physical impact, as if the music itself were demanding a response. That response came in a spontaneous standing ovation from an audience that had been holding its collective breath for the last 60 minutes…It is clear, based on this concert and Hrůša’s recent performances of Jenůfa at the Royal Opera House, that London audiences have already taken him to their hearts…Hrůša and the BBC SO delivered something truly extraordinary, a performance that will linger in the memory long after the climactic tolling bells of Shostakovich’s symphony have faded. It was a privilege to be there” – Seen and Heard International
Photo: Ian Ehm