Turnage - On Opened Ground

The Plain Dealer
Donald Rosenberg

The concerto was something brand new - Mark-Anthony Turnage's On Opened Ground, for viola and orchestra, in its world premiere. The British composer was represented here last year by a fantastic orchestral work, Drowned Out. His viola concerto couldn't be more different. It is a brooding, elusive score, without a flamboyant bone in its musical body.

The viola is cast as temperamental protagonist, prone to questing and contemplative lines. Turnage places the solo part against an orchestra that both complements and overwhelms, aided by his typically keen ear for color and nuance. On Opened Ground can be a hard expressive nut to crack at times. But it claims a haunting atmosphere that is always fascinating.

Russian violist Yuri Bashmet played the austere hero to the hilt, almost existing in a world apart. His penetrating sound and throbbing vibrato heightened the music's emotional heat, even if he didn't appear to be completely inside the score. Ling and the orchestra were alert, deeply committed collaborators. Turnage came onstage at the end looking hip and happy.