Category Archives: Reviews

Temple Music: Outcry Ensemble conducted by James Henshaw

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Middle Temple Hall, City of London

Middle Temple Hall – in all its Elizabethan glory with carving and stained glass – is a stunningly beautiful concert venue. It was, apparently the venue in which Twelfth Night was premiered (earliest known performance, anyway) in 1602 so it’s rather delightful that the tradition continues.

This concert opened with a world premiere of Windows by Misha Mullov-Abbado. I’m not sure how fair it is to point out that he’s the son of Viktoria Mullova and Claudio Abbado but he is, obviously and literally, a born musician. This work in three unrelated movements (written originally as standalones) is unexpectedly tonal and lyrical as well as, at times, jazzy and lilting. The first movement is almost lush in places with some fine, very exposed string work. I also admired the quality of the trombone playing over lots of well controlled vamping in the middle syncopated movement.

And then it was Schubert’s Eighth Symphony. Outcry Ensemble claims to approach modern music with the passion and rigour you’d expect to experience when hearing mainstream repertoire and to apply the explorative-analytical approach normally required for contemporary music when they play standard repertoire. And in this work you could hear exactly that from the dramatic dynamics to the well pointed general pauses which made it feel very crisp and fresh. In the andante Henshaw balanced the sonority with the alternating lightness, and the percussive pizzicato came through with notable precision. Yes, there was an occasional wrong note but that’s the joy of live performance.

The acoustic of Middle Temple Hall is perfect for Schubert. It worked much less well for the Brahms Violin Concerto. In the opening and closing movements the orchestra was often too loud so that accomplished soloist Oscar Perks seemed almost competing aurally and losing. Henshaw really should have been aware of this and damped his orchestra down. The gentler passages and the whole of the middle movement worked well though and it was a real treat to hear Perks play his own cadenza which explored the themes of the first movement with imaginative virtuosity.

Susan Elkin

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra

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The Dome, Brighton, Sunday 14th October, 2018

A joyfully indulgent afternoon to start the new series, and one which celebrated the 50th birthday of Brighton Festival Chorus.

After a brief welcome from Barry Wordsworth we were whisked into Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, its bombastic jollity setting the mood for the rest of the afternoon. Handel’s Zadok the Priest may lie a little outside the subsequent Parry and Elgar though it did give the choir an opening moment of glory. They were certainly in fine voice throughout, the tenors clear and true, the sopranos fearlessly attacking the top lines. This was very much a romantic approach to Handel, minus the organ and with a modern string sound, but very much in keeping with the Parry and Elgar which was to follow.

The real find of the concert was Parry’s rarely performed masterpiece From Death to Life. Written for Brighton in 1914 it shows a wonderful sense of colour it its orchestration and melodic lines which rival Elgar. The opening section on Death hints at the melancholy of Sibelius while the jolly march of Life sits comfortably with Eric Coates or Percy Grainger. We really need to hear this again.

The first half ended with Elgar’s setting of Psalm 48, written in 1912 and comparable to much of the choral setting in The Apostles or possibly more sedate demons from Gerontius in the second section. The bass chorus took on the solo third part with aplomb before all sections came together for the unfolding glories of the finale.

After the interval, to give the choir a break, we heard Elgar’s Cockaigne Overture in all its brashness and fizz. Barry Wordsworth managed to find real lightness and sparkle here for what can too easily become simply pompous. Maybe it was the thought of the Scene from the Bavarian Highlands which ended the afternoon. Is there anything else in Elgar which is quite as joyous as these settings of Lady Alice’s verse? Though her poems often come in for criticism, here they allow Elgar to delight in lightly flowing lines and warm, sunny harmonies which are a world away from English melancholy. The third and sixth songs are possibly better known in their orchestral arrangements but sung as part of the whole make a far more impressive impact.

In between these two exultant works we heard the brief, reflective setting of O Hearken Thou from 1911 and written for the Coronation of King George V. A surprisingly introspective work for a joyful occasion, its serious nature supports the faith which underlies it.

At the start Barry Wordsworth mentioned that he has recently recorded some lesser known Elgar works with The Brighton Festival Chorus. It will be a recording worth having.

The next BPO concert is on Sunday 11 November with works by Rossini, Beethoven and Dvorak.

Maidstone Symphony Orchestra

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Mote Hall, Maidstone,13 October 2018

The opening concert in MSO’s 108th season really belonged to young cellist, Maxim Calver. Aged only 18, he was a finalist in this year’s BBC Young Musician of the Year and he stood in at short notice for the booked soloist.

Unusually he began, at conductor Brian Wright’s request, with a solo piece – a variation, from a work by Lutoslawski commissioned by Rostopovitch and pretty dramatic it was too. He played this ambitious piece, complete with glissandi and quarter tones with intense insouciance.

Then, in place of Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto, it was on to a strikingly mature performance of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme with the legato variations leaned on for maximum romance and the faster ones delivered with crisp witty aplomb. His use of harmonics is spectacular too.

And as if that weren’t enough he then treated us to a richly nuanced encore – the very familiar but evergreen Sarabande from Bach’s First Cello Suite. Thus, this engaging, poised young man who smiles though the music when his rapier eyes aren’t staring into the distance, whizzed through the music of three centuries in less than an hour.

The concert began with Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem which is getting a number of outings this year to mark the centenary of the 1918 Armistice. It’s a tricky work. You don’t often see MSO front desk players visibly counting but they carried it off. The Dies Irae movement with the relentless rhythms ably underpinned by weighty percussion  (seven in the section) was especially impressive and there was some lovely work from harpists, Milo Harper and Alex Tindall.

Pictures at an Exhibition, of course, as we now usually hear it owes as much to Ravel’s orchestration as it does to Mussorgsky’s original piano suite. In this intelligent performance Brian Wright allowed every soloist and solo section  – some excellent playing here – to ensure that we noticed their contribution but without ever letting the piece feel bitty. It sailed along with warmth, fireworks and lots of colour. At the end Wright stood tuba player, Andy Bridges up first and quite right too. His solo was splendid as was Mike Austin’s work on alto saxophone. And The Great Gate of Kiev, the final section, with those evocative tubular bells and cymbal clashes must have sent every member of the audience away with melody ringing in their heads.

Yes, the season is off to a fine start. Roll on 1st December.

Susan Elkin

Hastings Philharmonic

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St Mary in the Castle, Hastings, Friday 12 October 2018

A simple programme to open the new season but one which demanded a high level of technical expertise as well as extrovert energy.

Roman Kosyakov was the popular winner of this year’s Hastings International Piano Competition and was returning to the romantic repertoire with Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto. However his approach, and one certainly supported by Marcio da Silva in his handling of the score, was dynamic and often aggressive. Roman Kosyakov’s playing is highly percussive, with snapped chords and very tight rhythms, which look forward to the twentieth century rather than relaxing in the romanticism of the mid-nineteenth. While this provided a genuine excitement it did at times seem to skirt over the more reflective passages, with only the finely honed third moment – with beautiful cello solos – bringing us some points of introspection. That Roman Kosyakov can conjure up genuine sensitivity was admirably demonstrated in the brief but gently fleeting encore.

After the interval – and the full house meant that a little more time than usual was needed – we heard Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. The balance here was even better than it had been in the Brahms and the solo instruments sang out magnificently, fully supported by the string section. Hopefully the orchestra will eventually be able to run to an extra desk for each of the string sections, but it is surprisingly strong at present given the small scale.

Tempi were brisk throughout and the cellos again excelled in the Allegretto with real warmth and depth. There was a lively bounce to the third movement before we hurtled into the finale. The tempi here was perfectly justified by Beethoven’s own markings but more than that was more than within the players professionalism to follow Marcio da Silva’s clipped rhythms and tense phrasing. It was exhilarating.

A splendid start to the new season with a large and enthusiastic audience. Long may it continue!

ENO: Porgy & Bess

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London Coliseum, Thursday 11 October 2018

You need to be at least middle-aged to recall the last production of Porgy & Bess staged in this country – Glyndebourne’s production under Simon Rattle, remounted later at the ROH – so it is all the more welcome now. That director James Robinson’s approach often raises as many questions as it solves is not to underestimate the achievement here, if nothing else the overwhelming impact of the score and the quality of singing.

It is easy to overlook the fact that this is essentially a choral work and the chorus which ENO has assembled are superb. The funeral scene, the great storm, the final chorus are stunningly effective and powerful while maintaining a sense of a genuine community coming together. The large number of solo parts are also pleasingly apt without any obvious caricaturing or stereotypes.

John Wilson whips his orchestra into a heady jazz idiom while maintaining the genuine operatic basis of Gershwin’s score, and it is this cross-over which is so well handled. All the soloists have operatic voices which are more than capable of filling the large spaces of the Coliseum. Nmon Ford’s Crown impresses from the start and is dangerously powerful throughout. If Eric Greene’s Porgy is more than a match for him it is partly because he is unusually athletic. While his left leg is badly deformed and he needs a crutch to move about, he does so swiftly and with apparent ease. This is one of a number of choices which sit uncomfortably with the text. Why is he a beggar when he appears to be as active as many of the other men and could surely hold down some sort of job? Or am I simply seeing it in terms of our current approach to those on benefits?!

Nicole Cabell’s Bess is a far more complex character – an obvious addict and, possibly because of this, showing very little personal strength. She is an outsider while Crown’s mistress, but is accepted into Catfish Row when she takes over Clara’s baby. Yet she returns to Crown all too easily and slopes off with Sporting Life at the end.

At the heart of the work her duet with Porgy, Bess you is my woman now is the key to the evening, and John Wilson slows the tempo to allow us to indulge in their one really happy moment.

Frederick Ballentine is a disturbing Sporting Life, seemingly allowed to lurk on the fringes of society, occasionally berated by the women but tolerated even though he is a real danger. That the chorus all seemed so happy to join in with It ain’t necessarily so was another moment of tension given the strong faith they all seem to have across the rest of the work.

Nadine Benjamin’s Clara and Latonia Moore’s Serena were warmly and glowingly sung, their presence underpinning the ongoing life of the community.

The design work by Michael Yeargan was something of a double-edged sword. The vast skeletal building, on its even larger revolve, provided a sense of community and of life taking place all the time in the individual rooms, but the lack of walls made it difficult to understand the ghetto-like sense of claustrophobia the community endures or a real sense of poverty. The upper floors had large fans in the ceilings – could they really afford this?

But these are minor quibbles for a production which brings ENO back into focus for quality production values as well as outstanding music.

The Nutcracker and I

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Alexandra Dariescu & Desiree Ballantyne, King’s Place

Presented here as part of London Piano Festival at King’s Place, The Nutcracker and I is effectively a piano recital with attached ballet, both actual and projected. It’s an enticingly imaginative concept and a real joy to see/hear some of the most sublimely colourful music ever written uncompromisingly introduced to a new generation of (very) tiny future ballet lovers.

The music, played with passion and drama by Alexandra Dariescu  on a concert grand, consists of fifteen piano transcriptions by composers as varied as Mikhail Pletnev, Stepan Esipoff, Percy Grainger and Gavin Sutherland. All manage to connote the original orchestration pretty fully and pack in a lot of notes, the challenge of which Dariescu rises to with warmth and aplomb.

The action is projected onto a downstage gauze screen with delightfully sympathetic animation by Yeast Culture. Their blue Trepak dancers are really fluid, their nutcracker prince lithe and their mice witty without becoming Disney-like. The only live dancer, Desiree Ballantyne, communicates and dances with them all, just as Dariescu, who plays from memory in half light, makes smiling eye contact and keeps pretty well in time with the dancers. It requires quite special skill to relate and react convincingly to something the audience can see but you can’t  (think Dick Van Dyke and the penguins in Mary Poppins) and both performers bring it off effectively.

What I liked most about this 50 minute show was the lack of dumbing down. It’s simply music and movement with several quite long passages of piano only. There are no words or explanations but it works. Most of the children in the audience were engaged throughout.

Dariescu over-lards the Waltz of the Flowers for my taste and, for narrative cohesion, I’d prefer to return to Clara’s house as she wakes from her dream at the end in the usual way, instead of the rather untidy, unclear ending we get here but these are only quibbles. Generally I loved it and hope Dariescu might be planning similar versions of other ballets.

This show is touring worldwide this autumn and early in 2019. There are some further UK dates in December.

Susan Elkin

Worthing Symphony Orchestra

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Worthing Assembly Hall, Sunday, September 30, 2018

A WSO concert rarity. Music all by composers who wore wigs. An occasion which surely demanded the musicians dress likewise! But rather than the theatre, sobriety called. It was to be a day of WSO history in the making. In sound. Tireless Turkish doyen of the piano Idil Biret, at 76, chose WSO, John Gibbons and their home stadium for the recording of the next pair of her career journey into the Piano Concertos of Mozart for the Naxos CD label.

In making their commercial recording debut on Sunday, WSO partnered Biret – hugely decorated internationally and the globe’s most-recorded pianist – into extending her gigantic recording legacy to 63 concertos. After her distinguished account of so many post-1800 piano compositional greats, several in live concert recordings, she has now gone back, in period, to Mozart.

Including Sunday, she has now recorded eight of his 27. Last year she added Nos 15 and 24 with John Gibbons joining the project and conducting the London Mozart Players at St John’s Smith Square in London. Her Nos 9 and 20 were also live, in Sydney, Australia, and Wurttemburg, Germany.

Biret is such a regular at Worthing that the Assembly Hall soloist’s dressing room on her visits sprouts Turkish drapes and lamps from the ceiling, rugs from the floor, and the purest authentic Turkish Delight from the refreshments fridge. Next time, before she plays whatever concerto, bookmakers’ odds are shortening that the parts for Mozart’s Overture to The Abduction from the Harem, with their Turkish percussion, will magically appear on the orchestra’s desks from a large puff of smoke generated by the raising of Gibbons’ baton.

Biret knows the orchestra, the acoustic, the audience, and she admires Gibbons’ flexible qualities. All involved on Sunday faced a marathon of preliminary rehearsing, recorded rehearsal takes, the live concert itself recorded, and, after the listening crowd had gone home, the plastic surgery re-takes to cover over any unacceptable flaws from the live performance. All except the concert itself was done behind closed Assembly Hall doors on the one day only.

To record an hour’s music with no previous orchestra rehearsal is the white-knuckle way the WSO and Gibbons execute their normal concerts, which results in quality one would deem miraculous were it not for the WSO’s comprising world-cream London and South East musicians with a readiness and willingness to tackle anything under a conductor they, too, have much time for – and travel mileage.

Principal violin Julian Leaper told me before the live concert that although the WSO is a contracted orchestra and not an employed one, 80% of the band are effectively ‘permanent’ and together felt a real pride in being about to make it onto disc as WSO. Of course, as recording orchestral musicians, WSO members, if anonymously (a disadvantage of their trade), have been on many famed recordings of concert hall repertoire and film soundtracks, including the Spielberg/Williams blockbusters.

Such will have increased Biret’s confidence and conviction in her decision to take WSO into their recording debut. Furthermore, leader Leaper informed me that he and fellow first-fiddles man Julian Trafford played in the English Chamber Orchestra in their lauded Mozart Concerto recordings with Murray Perahia and Mitsuko Uchida.

Worthing’s resident Steinway piano was unsuitable for the job in hand, however. My received information is that its quite recent upper re-stringing requires many more manual tunings before attaining optimal tuning stability. To require several such tunings during the day would waste time and disrupt.

Japanese makers Kawai therefore jumped at the chance to provide a substitute with the only available British example of their newly-developed Shigeru series Concert Grand – which emerges worldwide at a rate of only 20 a year, and which at £125,000 is intended to rival world-elite pianos Steinway, Bosendorfer, Fazioli and Yamaha’s CFX.

The Shigeru’s evenness of presence and tone across its keyboard length, and thus its expressive potential, was evident in the performance. Kawai delivered the instrument to Worthing and thus virtually sponsored the live recorded concert.

The day had begun early for the orchestra and recording crew, but maybe not as stressfully as for Maxwell Spiers. He was called up at 7am to be told that WSO principal oboist Chris O’Neil’s replacement Louise Hayter had fallen ill. Would he get dressed and get down here? He would? Right, so all was now ready.

Well might have Spiers been mopping his brow after his rush but then he discovered the altered playing order of music meant his big moment came right at the start. The Arrival of The Queen of Sheba features the two oboes in busy duetting fanfares. Its ending brought real mopping of the Spiers brow and he admitted: “Yes, that piece is a real blow [challenge]! We are playing in nearly every bar because Handel has us playing the first violins part in the bits between our solos.”

Biret may be from Ankara, but if her first concerto of the day as the celebrated soloist was announced by The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, what’s a few hundred miles across mountains and semi-desert?

William Boyce made probably his WSO debut when British music nut John Gibbons unfailingly seized the rare chance to crack open one of his short but distinctive eight baroque symphonies as a limbering-up for making a recording of other late 18th Century music. And a splendid choice it was, too, when it opened the second half of the concert. Boyce being the Master Of The King’s Music, it’s actual composition was to mark the birthday of George II.

Boyce bridges an historical musical gap between Purcell and Elgar, and is buried beneath the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral.

Ahead of this intended CD of Mozart’s 25th and 27th Piano Concertos seeing the light of day, I ought properly to say nothing of the performance. But with the occasion’s music choices – all but the sublime Bb Concerto creating a real sense of celebration – I’ll say one thing. Having listened to WSO since a boy it was a thrill to hear the magnificent orchestra-only introduction to the C Major Concerto build and build, knowing what we heard now might be heard far and wide in years to come. Mozart had just conquered Vienna on his three main fronts of opera, symphony and concerto, and now here were WSO having a big moment of their own.

And when Biret made her first piano entry . . . ah, that would be telling.

Richard Amey

 

Next WSO (Assembly Hall, 2.45) – Sunday November 4, ‘Queen of Coloratura’:  Helena Dix (soprano) in Ode To A Nightingale (Harty) and Desdemona’s final prayer including Ave Maria (Verdi’s Otello), plus Force of Destiny (Verdi overture), A Shropshire Lad (Butterworth); Romeo & Juliet (Tchaikovsky fantasy-overture).

Next International Interview Concert (St Paul’s, 3.30pm for 4pm, set in the round), Sunday, November 18, ‘Dances Fires & Fragrances’ – Rhythmie Wong (Hong Kong, piano – 2018 Sussex International Piano Competition finalist):  La Valse (Ravel), music from the Firebird ballet (Stravinsky), Iberia, Book One (Albeniz), The Maiden & The Nightingale (Granados),  Sonata No 52 in Eb (Haydn), plus Ask a Question, Mystery Music Spot, and Chinese surprises.

Concert with Live Concert recording for Naxos of 2 Mozart Piano Concertos: Worthing Symphony Orchestra, conductor John Gibbons, pianist Idil Biret;
Handel, The Arrival of The Queen of Sheba from the oratorio Solomon (oboists, Maxwell Spiers, Rachel Ingleton)
Mozart, Piano Concerto No 27 in Bb K595
Boyce, Symphony No 2 in A (Ode for the King’s Birthday)
Mozart, Piano Concerto in C K503.

 

ENO: Salome

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London Coliseum, Friday 28th September 2018

Salome should be a visceral assault regardless of whether it is the play or the opera. When Richard Strauss’ opera is given in English with much of Tom Hammond’s translation mirroring Wilde’s text it should be doubly effective. That Adena Jacobs’ production for ENO manages to drain most of the emotion out of it is quite a feat in itself. It is not so much that the production misfires – there are many telling moments and much of the score is well sung and presented – as that the temperature never rises above cool and the final scene is distinctly underwhelming.

Billed as a boldly feminine interpretation it was difficult to see how this claim was justified in terms of the production itself. That Salome is objectified by all around her is certainly a valid approach but the lack of eye contact, or more importantly the sense of the gaze, kills any sense of lust or passion.

Marg Horwell’s sets are equally unhelpful here. The vast open spaces make the singers look lost and rather that the claustrophobic world of both text and score, we have little sense of a community constantly inward-looking and cut off from the outside world. Of the many productions I have seen, WNO’s most recent was by far the most effective with its pierced Islamic screens and constant prying eyes. For ENO, all too often the stage is empty apart from the protagonist.

Needless to say there is no dance for Herod, and after a few listless poses Salome gives up and hands the dance over to four professional dancers, though there is little point as Herod is not watching anyway.

If there is supposed to be a close relationship with Herodias it is not obvious until the end which comes about as a double suicide. This hardly seems to be a feminist outcome as the men have all too obviously won yet again.

The singing is mostly strong, particularly in the smaller parts where Stuart Jackson’s Narraboth is particularly effective, and Susan Bickley a commanding Herodias. In any other production Michael Colvin’s Herod might be very persuasive as he is vocally on top of the part but his near insanity for much of the evening – ending up with his Father Christmas sack – cuts against any impact he might have made.

The five Jews are impressive – though they would never have agreed to mop up spilt blood! – as are the two Nazarenes.

This leaves us with the two protagonists. David Soar has previously impressed and is always a positive presence on stage but here Jokanaan seems to lie out of his reach. Too often the voice sounded strained and uncomfortable rather than the noble centre it requires. As Salome Allison Cook looked and acted exactly as Adena Jacobs obviously intended, the Barbie doll / My Little Pony overtones neatly focused and the lack of emotion throughout carefully controlled. All would have been well but her voice never carries the authority the part needs, particularly in the final scenes. There was no sense of development or a gaining of control. Even from front centre of the Coliseum stage her voice could not soar over the orchestra. Having heard Jessye Norman almost drown out the orchestra in this final scene I know it is possible!

The orchestra played with considerable finesse but Martyn Brabbins did not seem to be able to find the raw power and dangerous, heady enthusiasm Strauss calls for.

It is difficult to see how this production could be better focussed if it were to return. Meanwhile we have Porgy and Bess to look forward to.

International Composers Festival

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Opus Theatre/De La Warr Pavilion, 21-23 September 2018

The Fourth International Composers Festival presented six events over three days, featuring the work of more than 40 living composers and over two hundred performers. Moreover, it brought together a wide range of musicians and styles but with one specific focus in mind – the importance of melody to enhance the listener’s experience and enjoyment. Polo Piatti had set this as the goal of the festival and regularly across the weekend extolled the strength and ongoing importance of melody as the key to broadening the involvement of an ever widening public.

With so many new works performed a brief review like this can only give a glimpse of what was achieved, highlighting just a few of the many outstanding compositions.

The Grand Opening Concert on Friday evening at the Opus Theatre was given by the International Festival Orchestra under John Andrews who proved to be a tower of strength across the three days, his indefatigable good humour and enthusiasm never allowed to flag.

Two of the most engaging works came either side of the interval with Thomas Hewitt-Jones’ That’s it, I’m off to Cuba whisking us away to the exotic before Louise Denny’ Mulberry Harbours – a march written for Civil Engineers – bring us comfortably back to a very English Waltonesque reality.

Efimero by Noelia Escalzo brought us the first of a number of fine solos from violinist Jane Gordon, who led the orchestra as well as providing many individual items across the weekend. Great musicianship and a calm head at all times.

Pollo Piatti is a fine composer in his own right and it was more than acceptable that he should include some of his own works. On Friday we heard Goodbye with Katie Molloy providing the guitar solo and the concert ended with The Impossible Pieces for orchestra with trumpet, clarinet and violin solos. The richly rolling orchestration – somewhere between Rheingold and Vltava ­– was immensely pleasing and brought the first day to a fine climax.

Saturday morning, in the De La Warr Pavilion, we heard a wide range of chamber music. Some the most impressive was performed by violinist, Daniel Rainey and pianist Simon Proctor. Daydream by Kevin Riley and Romance by Peter Thorogood both demonstrated a sensitive understanding of form and a keen awareness of the development of ideas. Lament by Ash Madni was one of the few pieces of genuinely reflective writing, its soulful reworking of a brief motif being very moving.

The morning ended with Romance in C by Fiona Bennett with a horn solo finely played Simon Morgan.

Saturday afternoon brought a change of approach with the Brighton Film Quartet playing works by Penny Loosemore set against film clips. The composer stressed that the music had come first and appropriate clips added subsequently. The outcome was often effective and atmospheric with the starling murmuration particularly pleasing.

Camera – Sound – Play! on Saturday evening brought us to a more popular and probably more familiar set of scores, including music from La La Land, Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter.

However it also included an improvised piece from Oliver Poole – Altitude – which involved not only the pianist improvising but the whole orchestra as well – a fascinating and most impressive undertaking as well as one which proved musically stimulating.

Perhaps the most innovative idea came on Sunday at the concluding event which was given over to dance. Six new works from around the world were choreographed by the Eastbourne Academy of Dancing and the Diana Freedman School of Dance, ranging from a lively Barro Negro from Mexico by Carlos Salomon, Pollo Piatti’s own Tango Solitaire and a stunning Hornpipe from Simon Proctor. After the interval there was one work, the world premiere of The Crane’s Wife choreographed by Mayu Uesugi – who also danced the principle roll – and scored by Nobuya Monta. The company had travelled from Osaka specifically to give this premiere and it proved a fitting climax to the weekend. The simple folktale unfolded with grace and emotional truth, the score highlighting the nuances of mood and deeper mythical layers of the narrative.

Only a few years ago the idea of so many international musicians coming to Hastings for an event of this breadth and quality would have been unthinkable. We have much to be thankful for in the creative talents and sheer hard work which Pollo Piatti has put in to making this possible. Long may it last!

 

Hastings Philharmonic at Rye Festival

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St Mary, Rye, Thursday 20th September 2018

Hastings Philharmonic’s new season does not officially open until 12 October but they had been invited to take part in this year’s Rye Festival and a very successful visit it proved to be. The acoustic in St Mary’s suits a baroque orchestra well and placing it essentially within the nave rather than wholly under the tower enhanced its impact.

The evening was founded not just on Mozart but on his lifetime relationship with G minor. Though the Piano Concerto No17 is in the major it regularly dips into the minor and formed a formidable pair with the great G minor symphony.

Kenny Broberg, winner of the 2017 Hastings International Piano Competition, was the soloist, opening with a hard-edged almost aggressive approach in the first movement. In the second he brought out the introspective, searching quality of the score to fine effect, before cheering up considerably for the rustic dances of the finale.

The rest of the programme was familiar to those of us who are regular supporters of Hastings Philharmonic. Philip O’Meara’s Flacubal was first heard in March this year and was being given in a revised form. Much as I enjoyed its original outing this performance seemed crisper, with a light, bright opening – at times almost playful in its rapid melody making. The deep romanticism of the slow movement gives way to the as fast as possible of the finale and creates a virtual concerto part for the lead violin – splendidly played on this occasion.

This led into Mozart’s Symphony No40 – the great G minor – with all the tension and passion the score requires. The great benefit of small forces is that the balance can be finely honed while the tempi need not drop. Bassoons were particularly impressive on this occasion and the rasp of the horns brought excitement to the concluding bars. Marcio da Silva handles his forces with great skill, shaping musical lines to beautiful effect and splendid impact within the warm and sympathetic acoustic.

The Autumn-Winter season brochure is now available and on line at www.hastingsphilharmonic.com