PRESS - ‘AN EXCITING RETURN TO RSNO’

Conductor Kristiina returned to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for three concerts. The programme featured music by Pärt and Tchaikovsky, alongside the The Lives of Birds by Langer. It was an ‘exciting return’ warmly received by the press, praising Poska’s direction and the orchestra’s expressive playing.

Bachtrack: “… a weighty, sonorous performance of Pärt’s Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten, which began with glassy shards of sound hovering in mid-air, slowly coalescing around a bass line that was drawn infinitely downwards like an Escher picture. Much of the credit for that lay with the control exerted from the podium by Kristiina Poska, a powerhouse conductor returning to the RSNO for the first time since her first rate Sibelius in 2023.

She was also responsible for a gripping Tchaikovsky 4 that was as tight as a coiled spring. The opening fanfare was as clear, curt and clipped as you’d like it to be, and the main Allegro was vibrant and propulsive, full of dark energy that drove it forwards, the second subject having the lilt of the dance like a lopsided waltz. Poska controlled the change of tempo with remarkable skill, driving the movement towards a furious coda, which was just a preparation for an exciting finale that swung between despair and euphoria. En route, the slow movement had the lyricism of a song-without-words, and the Scherzo was taken so daringly quickly that it felt like it was at permanent risk of collapse. It’s a testament to the players that it never did.

Vox Carnyx: “A single tolling bell signals the dense writing of the canon for strings, and – in partnership with RSNO leader Maya Iwabuchi – Poska had the RSNO players produce an intensity of sound from the first bars that was perfect for the piece. A work of elegant simplicity, it packed a punch in this performance.

If the narrative of those works was never obscure, that of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony has been worried over since its composition. Not by Poska and the RSNO in this performance however – what they gave us was a celebration of the score as superbly orchestrated music. The Fourth is full of brilliantly simple ideas given the fullest possible expression, from the “fateful” minor-key fanfare with which it begins, through the lovely melodious Andantino slow movement to the demanding pizzicato Scherzo and the gloriously expressive finale.

Poska shaped that musical story superbly, and the players added the details of solo exuberance and ensemble cohesion to what was a thrilling performance.”

The Herald Scotland: “Arvo Part’s brief Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten, his intense outpouring of grief at the early death of the British composer, which opened the concert. Written for strings, with the tolling single tubular bell played by principal percussionist Simon Lowden, conductor Kristiina Poska ensured that her fellow-Estonian’s celebrated short piece had the most intense performance, with powerful playing from orchestra leader Maya Iwabuchi’s first violins, straight out of the blocks.

Tchaikovsky, on the other hand, provided plenty melody in his Fourth Symphony, which filled the evening’s second half. The symphony’s Andantino second movement contains two of his finest, and the way the first of them was passed from solo oboe to the cellos was emblematic of Poska’s flowing interpretation of the whole work. The structural simplicity of some of those tunes comes with glorious orchestral sophistication, and Poska and the RSNO made sure that it was given the fullest possible expression, with sparkling playing of the demanding pizzicato Scherzo and  the conductor coaxing new levels of energy from the players in the great crescendo of the last movement.

Edinburgh Music Review: “Kristiina Poska created a magical sheen of sound with the strings of the RSNO, and the audience responded ecstatically to the opening piece. The second work on the programme was also warmly applauded, although I was less certain of its merits.

After the interval, we were privileged to listen to a truly fabulous account of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, dating from 1878, two years after the composer had been present at the premiere of Richard Wagner’s magnum opus, ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’ at Bayreuth.

This one was fantastic. Kristiina Poska was in total command from the first earth-shattering statement of the great Fate theme in the brass, and her commitment and thrilling conducting never faltered throughout the 45 minutes of the symphony. The first movement is one of symphonic music’s finest creations, as the composer leads us through a cornucopia of emotions, and the RSNO rose to the occasion. Ms Poska is that rare species, a left-handed conductor (like Donald Runnicles), and I am always interested to see how an orchestra responds to a beat from a different hand. It’s more different than one might expect. Her style is extremely fluid and demonstrative, and even watching from behind was a fascinating experience. She certainly produced wonderful playing from the orchestra, with monumental climaxes, suave Russian harmonies and outstanding contributions from all the principal musicians, in particular Adrian Wilson’s glorious oboe solo in the second movement. This symphony represents the first and perhaps most evocative melding of Western sonata form with Tchaikovsky’s native Russian feelings. The languid melancholy of the second movement leads into the extraordinary pizzicato Scherzo, which in turn drives us into the apocalyptic Finale, a tightly constructed whirlwind which is designed to sweep us off our feet in a frenzy of triumphant playing. Ms Poska was our guide through this amazing musical journey, and the ovation at the end was a testament to her success.