On 27 January, the London Philharmonic Orchestra made a spectacular Shakespeare400 debut, calling it the ‘centrepiece of the LPO’s 2015/2016 concert season’.  Together with select members of the LPO’s core ensemble, the Foyle Future Firsts performed Dmitri Shostakovich’s ‘Suite from the Theatre Music’ of Nikolai Akimov’s 1932 theatre production of Hamlet. 

The aspiring professionals of Foyle Future Firsts, joined by select members of the LPO’s larger orchestral ensemble, were an entirely cohesive unit and provided a thrilling musical experience.  Conductor Vladimir Jurowski possesses a wealth of knowledge not only of Russia’s theatrical precedents in Shakespearean performance but also of the contemporary political oppressions which led to Shostakovich’s work.  In his introduction, Jurowski set the scene of a Russia that, although critically and authoritatively shocked by Akimov’s controversial Hamlet, was still eternally captivated by Shostakovich’s accompanying score.  Shostakovich’s music is all that remains of the 1932 production. 

As Jurowski described it, the composition is ‘mercurial’, oscillating ‘between laughter and pomposity’ with ‘echoes of Offenbach and cabaret’.  As I personally favour strings, the percussion was an unexpected favourite element of this performance, owing to the diligence of those on the snare and timpani drums in militaristic flourishes like ‘Introduction and Night Watch’ and ‘The March of Fortinbras’.  Other splendid moments of musicality were the precision of string pizacatto matched with flutes as well as ‘Ophelia’s Song’ elegantly done by a small string ensemble. 

As a conductor, even Jurowski’s physicality demonstrated the kind of ‘avant-garde’ theatricality for which Akimov’s production is renowned, as he moved between snaps to attention and humorous slumps.  The entire performance was as educational as it was entertaining, and proved to be the ideal musical opener for this year’s Shakespearean festivities and the London Philharmonic Orchestra concert season.