“Dance when you’ve left / Dance when you’ve torn the bandage off / Dance in the middle of the battle / Dance in your blood / Dance when you’re completely free.” Inspired by this poem by Rumi, Anna Clyne composed her first cello concerto DANCE last year. Superlatives are always to be used with caution. DANCE is actually a masterpiece that has what it takes to go down in music history.
The native British, born 1980 in London, has not really had her breakthrough in the German-speaking area; at best it is considered an insider tip. Clyne, who is also a cellist herself, stands out for her very versatile compositional work and great productivity. She writes both acoustic and electroacoustic music and for a wide variety of music genres: music for orchestras, for chamber orchestras, concerts, string quartets and much more.
DANCE is a commission from the cellist Inbal Segev and had its world premiere on August 3, 2019 with the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra under Cristian Macelaru. Originally from Israel, Segev is considered to be one of the greats among the cello virtuosos. She was a so-called child prodigy and made a name for herself as an adult with premieres of contemporary, especially American, music.
What makes DANCE a masterpiece now? Certainly, it is superbly orchestrated, which is by the way a general trademark of Anna Clyne’s compositional style. DANCE just has that certain something. It impresses with breathtakingly beautiful melodies, some of which rise suddenly from rhythmically pulsating parts, which creates a tremendously liberating effect. It is unusual for a concert that the first movement is slow and meditative. The third movement, which is also slow, forms the artistic climax. Here a beguilingly beautiful melody by the cello and orchestra is woven like a carpet, so to speak. Sometimes the cello takes over, sometimes the orchestra, sometimes the cello only plays individual notes of the melody and leaves the main part to the orchestra. Above all, it is the first three movements of DANCE: they are one of the most wonderful things we have heard in a long time.
Inbal Segev definitely contributed to this terrific listening experience. You can almost tell that Anna Clyne was present when DANCE was recorded. Segev plays extremely present, as if electrified, and extremely expressive. In addition, the London Philharmonic Orchestra shines under Marin Alsop: The native New Yorker is considered one of the best conductors in the world. Alsop and the orchestra respond extremely well to the soloist and often take this back in favor of the soloist. Simply fantastic! Incidentally, Alsop has been leading the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna since September 2019. It is therefore very much to be hoped that in future we will see Alsop more frequently on concert stages in continental Europe.
To come back to Edward Elgar’s cello concerto briefly: Here, too, Segev plays technically perfect and solidly. However, the interpretation in the expression seems strangely pale compared to DANCE. With regard to Elgar, to be honest, you are better off with an interpretation by Mstislaw Rostropovich or by Jacqueline du Pré.
But that doesn’t change anything: Segev’s interpretation of DANCE is world-class. By the way, if you want to hear more from Anna Clyne: the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Ben Gernon put a live performance of their orchestral work This Midnight Hour, composed in 2015, on Youtube in 2019. This work also impresses with its excellent orchestration. Anna Clyne’s first cello concerto DANCE is clearly not a coincidence, but a highly talented composer is establishing herself here. We wish her the very best in her career.
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