Berlioz Harold in Italy with Dana Zemtsov by Farrenc, L., Berlioz, Poulenc, Ħad 14 Jan 2024, Minn (2024/2024), Surmast Direttur Peter Manning, South Bank Centre, London, United Kingdom

Not one to let the fact that she was a woman stop her, Louise Farrrenc was a mover and shaker on the Paris music scene in the mid-1800s. As well as being an extraordinary pianist and in-demand teacher, she was an admired composer, with Berlioz himself commenting on ‘the magic of her musical palette’. In 1830s Paris, opera was the name of the game and there is more than a touch of operatic drama and emotion in this rip-roaring roller coaster ride of an overture. If the viola was a Hollywood movie star then Berlioz’s Harold in Italy (inspired by a combination of the composer’s own travels in Italy and Lord Byron’s poem Childe Harold) would be the piece that took it from supporting role stalwart to best actor in a leading role. Violist Dana Zemtsov, with her ‘powerful tone and compelling narrative power’ (NRC Daily), brings to life the character of Harold, a restless and disillusioned antihero wandering through Italy in a quest to rediscover pleasure and purpose. And it’s an Oscar-worthy role, featuring an epic hike through mountains, a spiritual awakening, voyeurism and even a brief dalliance with a band of outlaws, all delivered through heart stoppingly beautiful melodies and joyous dances. Lively, witty and brimming with good tunes, Poulenc’s Sinfonietta is a pared-down neoclassical palette-cleanser after the indulgent romanticism of Farrenc and Berlioz. This is happy music written by a man who was living his best life having thrown off the shackles of parental expectation.