Icebreaker/Scottish Ensemble – review

This was the first of three nights devoted to violinist and Scottish Ensemble director Jonathan Morton – not as a player, but as a curator. The idea was to stage what might be his typical Spotify playlist, and for his usual audience to get to know him a little better in the process. Judging by the lineup for the rest of the weekend – Romani Gypsy band Taraf de Haïdouks , Finnish fiddler Pekka Kuusisto , the Hilliard Ensemble – that playlist is an eclectic jumble. But this opening programme was pure Andriessen-Reich-Glass minimalism. It's music that Glasgow – now in the final stint of its hefty three-year Minimal series – has recently heard rather a lot. London-based Icebreaker opened with their chamber arrangement of Louis Andriessen's 1983 De Snelheid ; Morton introduced the piece as "completely uncompromisingly radical", but that didn't come across in the careful performance that followed. Andriessen's brilliant, brash hocketing sounded measured, not sparky, and I missed the thrill of a real sprint to the finish. Amplification was tricky, too; the Scottish Ensemble's trademark fresh sound turned squeaky in their performance of Steve Reich's 2005 Variations for Vibes, Piano and Strings , and the four vibraphones were nearly inaudible. This is ostensibly a dance score, and the Ensemble bobbed along accordingly; musical junctures slid by without much ceremony, and the 20 minutes felt genially humdrum. Finally, Icebreaker performed Philip Glass's 1981 Glassworks , premiering a new arrangement made by the composer especially for their forces. Their sound suits Glass's folksy pop-ballad writing. Though technical foibles cropped up – looped lines interrupted by breaths, a soprano sax's wandering intonation, an alto flute's breathy sound – these brought a welcome touch of humanity to a score of tedious self-importance and mind-numbing cliche.