Edinburgh International Festival music reviews: Ryan Wang | Shostakovich Inside Out

MUSIC

Ryan Wang ★★★★★

Queen’s Hall

As part of the EIF’s Focus on Poland, Monday’s Queen’s Hall recital not only placed its focus on one of the most familiar Polish composers - Chopin - but also put the spotlight on a most remarkable young pianist. At the age of 18, Canadian-born Ryan Wang already has a list of prized titles to his name, not least of which is BBC Young Musician of the Year 2024.

Playing his all-Chopin programme completely from memory, a sense of inherent joy inhabits his performing, becoming all the more joyous for the audience experiencing this phenomenally prodigious talent. The 24 Preludes of the first half immediately revealed Wang’s gift for blossoming lyricism, with flawless technical precision bringing sighing phrasing, gentle rippling or twinkling like stars as called for by the shifting moods of the music.

READ MORE: Edinburgh International Festival dance review: Mary, Queen of Scots

The Piano Sonata No 2 was meatier and more impassioned, driving forward with pulsating rhythm, leading to an appropriately sombre Marche funèbre and, in turn, the quicksilver nimbleness of the Finale – Presto. To close, Chopin’s Là ci darem le mano Variations were playful and humorous in their fluency and flourish. Definitely a rising star to keep an eye on.

Carol Main

MUSIC

Shostakovich Inside Out ★★★★★

Usher Hall

Getting it right when dissecting orchestral music and bringing it up close to the audience can be hit and miss. Aurora Orchestra, making its first visit to Scotland in the 20 years of its existence, got it very much right at the Usher Hall on Monday afternoon.

Their trademark is playing everything from memory, something not usually seen with large-scale scores like Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony. Finding their places amongst the stalls audience lounging on beanbags, the string players interspersed themselves across the gaps in-between, sensibly keeping the brass section at a little bit more distance. With conductor Nicholas Collon like a swivelling circus ringmaster in the middle of his 360⁰ orchestra, the performers became a symphonic juke-box, playing excerpts of anything he called for.

Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, his 4th Symphony and even a bit of Mahler all helped to demonstrate what the 5th Symphony is all about. Non patronising, and putting the critical political dimension in perspective, greater understanding of the work’s background made for more rewarding listening as each of the four movements was played, broken up by Collon’s informative chat. Acoustically, the sound itself was fulsome and surprisingly coherent given how far apart the players were from each other.

Carol Main

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