Photo credit: Hannah Blake Fathers
Bruckner’s 7th Symphony
CBSO, Symphony Hall Birmingham | 3rd November 2026.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review by David Gray & Paul Gray
“Interesting Prokofiev: Magnificent Bruckner.”
Prokofiev – Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major
Bruckner (ed. Haas, rev. Nowak) – Symphony No. 7 in E Major
While Prokofiev’s 1st Violin Concerto is couched in what might be termed a quite romantic musical language, it isn’t one of those big stand-and-deliver romantic concertos. It is a much more understanded, intimate piece. Yes, there are some soaring melodies, but the mood tends towards delicacy and detail rather than passion and power.
Conductor Ilan Volkov, in his first concert as new Principal Guest Conductor of the CBSO worked hard to highlight these aspects of the work, creating shimmering textures and keeping the focus tight and bright. Some of the softer passages could have done with a little less volume, but this was a thoughtful and considered reading with a distinctively other-worldly feel to it.
Soloist, Ilya Gringolts played with an enormous range of colouration. Which in some ways was good, in others, not so. Remarkably brutal and earthy tones in the Scherzo ensured the movement was full of character and rather unsettling. But in the outer movements there was (perhaps) an overzealous and self-conscious quest for tonal variety which became a little distracting and made everything feel somewhat disconnected.
The player’s virtuosity was exemplary, but some passages which should have soared did not sing as much as they might have done. And in other places a more expansive open approach might have served the music more convincingly.
Bruckner’s approach to building texture is quite different to that taken by Prokofiev. While the sound world in the violin concerto is a tightly woven tapestry of sound, Bruckner’s dense textures are multilayered and monumental.
Volkov’s reading was grand and authoritative but also dynamic and full of forward momentum. He managed to keep the energy flowing, treating pauses as moments of tension and expectation, and building the layers of sound with a sense of implacable inevitability.
His Adagio was particularly beautifully shaped with a real feeling for the overall architecture. But Volkov also dug into the strata to unearth moments of tenderness, intimacy, and emotional yearning.
The CBSO strings played throughout with presence and muscularity. Wonderful work from the woodwind, full of detail and character. A magnificent wall of sound from a brass section augmented with a phalanx of Wagner tubas. The orchestra gave it their all and delivered earth shattering climaxes. A very compelling performance.
Ilan Volkov – Conductor
Ilya Gringolts - Violin