White Rock Theatre, Wednesday 20 March 2019

Irish Dance is exhilarating, engaging and hugely enjoyable. It is also essentially abstract which brings us to the heart of the problem with Gaelforce’s production at the White Rock. The story opens with a wedding and the celebration eventually gives way to tragedy when the bride runs off with her husband’s brother leading to his girl-friend taking revenge. A final reconciliation is brought about when the bride returns as a ghost, Giselle-like, to bring the brothers together.

The wedding celebrations were a delight, and on this occasion the company was joined by members of the Griffin Lynch Irish Dance School from Tunbridge Wells, who added colour, style and splendid expertise. Not only was this persuasively authentic, it also brought us young dancers who were obviously going to continue the tradition of excellence. The young man who danced a captivating solo showed real sparkle and a winning personality.

For the story line itself, it was at its best when celebrating but at a loss when trying to be dramatic. West Side Story showed how choreography can adapt itself to violent action, but pseudo-fighting while others appear to be simply dancing at the edges does not convince.

Thankfully, like many classical ballets, the story line peters out mid-way through the second half and we are into a series of highly enjoyable set pieces which brought the evening to a close. Music was recorded except for some fine bodhran playing which accompanied some of the final solo dances. Given the quality of the performers, the audience was surprisingly thin, even given that this is a quiet time of the year.

There will be more Irish Dance coming to the White Rock on 7 July when Rhythm of the Dance will arrive with live music and a focus on the dance itself without any unnecessary narrative to distract from the beauty of line. It promises to be a good evening.

The Dome, Brighton, 17 March 2019

It was a resounding concert end to the season, and a real pleasure to see the Dome nearly full with an audience which included a surprising number of quite young children, excited and attentive, for what was by no means a “children’s programme”. Hurrah for the enlightened families who brought them along.

The heady atmosphere was enhanced, of course, by the central performance of the notoriously difficult Rachmaninov Third Piano Concerto. Stephen Osborne scaled the heights of this pianistic Everest with understated panache, terrific control, plenty of drama and admirable stamina considering that it is a 40 minute piece and the piano part, with its frequent changes of mood and mode, barely pauses for breath. I shall treasure his dramatic opening to the third movement during which his whole body was bouncing off the piano stool. The piano chord and legato string passage in the finale was nicely done too. Barry Wordsworth and the orchestra really rose to the challenge too. So much of the orchestral writing is in apposition to the piano in this work that it’s always tricky to bring off. In this performance we got lots of loving, sympathetic detail, for the most part accurately placed.

The concert had opened with ever-tuneful Chabrier’s Joyeuse Marche – always fun to play and to listen to, and I’ve rarely heard it played with quite so much incisive “joie”.

And so to the glorious end piece: Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. It never palls does it? You’ve got to love a piece which uses two tubas, two harps, double timps (at one point requiring four players) and was at least a hundred years ahead of its time. In many ways in this programme, it sounded more “modern” than the sometimes schmultzy Rachmaninov. The highlights in this fine performance included some attractive work in the second movement with the harps underpinning the waltz. And it was an inspired idea to position the “off stage” oboist visibly in the gallery to play that beautiful avian duet with the cor anglais in the third movement. Then, for March to the Scaffold, the tubular bell was at the top of the choir, twenty feet above the main body of the orchestra which made it sound eerie and distant. I really liked the lovely broad tutte sound in the finale too.

Yes, it was a memorable concert which sent this audience member, at least, home with a spring in her step. Thanks, Brighton Philharmonic for another strong season. See you in the autumn.

Susan Elkin

St Mary in the Castle, Hastings, Friday 15 March 2019

A cold night and very little heating in St Mary in the Castle seemed to reflect the three northern composers, though the warmth of the music and the immediacy of the scores certainly made up for any drop in temperature.

This was essentially a concert for string orchestra, which drew on the ensemble strengths of the ensemble and the excellent balance which they create. It was also unusual for its guest conductor, Scott Sandmeier, making a welcome addition to the many professional musicians working with the company. His light touch and accurate control showed fine rapport with his players.

The concert opened with Grieg’s Holberg Suite, the Praeludium providing bite and the Gavotte really bouncy rhythms. The Sarabande reflected a more English serenity with overtones of Finzi. After the interval we moved from Norway to Finland with Sibelius’ highly introspective Impromptu for strings before the familiar warmth of Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. The emotional impact of this, after the Sibelius and the Philip Glass was most touching.

But it was Philip Glass’ Tirol Concerto which really blew the cobwebs away. This is an unusual work as only the long second movement feels like Glass’ core minimalist compositions. It has a wonderfully timeless quality, based on a gently unfolding Passacaglia which the pianist elaborates and entwines in ever-evolving musical lines which never reach a conclusion. It is as far from conventional melodic creation as one could wish, and does not so much end as simply stop. Magnificently played by Stephanie Gurga, she also brought a lively humour to the outside movements where Glass indulges himself in jazzy rhythms and syncopations. It is surprising the work is not far better known. It would have made a splendid addition to the heavily romantic agenda for the Piano Concerto Competition!

Brian Hick

The Dome, Brighton, Sunday 3 March 2019

In a rather refreshing change from the usual overture-concerto-symphony format, this seven work concert was themed on holidays and travel, starting with Mendelssohn in the Hebrides (suitably evocative) and ending in Rome with Tchaikovsky and the Capricccio Italien (nice tambourine duet). And the variety certainly brought the best out in the orchestra who were in rather good form under their Conductor Laureate, Barry Wordsworth.

The highlight for me was Hugo Alfven’s 1903 Swedish Rhapsody much of which I have known since primary school but have never before heard played live. It’s a very upbeat, tuneful celebration of Sweden in midsummer with lots of folksy tunes and is beautifully – wittily – orchestrated. Among the many solo spots the perfectly played bassoon passage was least expected and the most enjoyable. It was a good concert for the principal bassoon actually, because later he also delivered a sparkily immaculate solo in the Cherry Ripe section of Eric Coates’s London Suite – another splendid piece which doesn’t get enough outings.

Anatoly Lyadov (too lazy to get on with the Firebird commission so Diagelev asked the young Stravinsky instead, Wordsworth told the audience) is not a very familiar concert hall name but his Delius-like The Enchanted Lake came off well enough at this concert. It’s a very slow piece of programme music with lots of legato strings which is always a challenge. Wordsworth, now seated on a stool, conducted it with a lot of manual fluidity.

It’s a pleasure too to hear The Banks of Green Willow in a concert – always so poignant  because it is so redolent with wistful unfulfilled promise since Butterworth died at the Battle of the Somme aged 31. The oboe solo was especially lovely at this performance and Wordsworth brought out all the intangible “Englishness” which underlies the piece.

We also got two trains in this concert – to transport us in musical imagination from place to place. Honnegger’s Pacific 231 was evocatively played, extra percussionists having joined the orchestra, with masses of orchestral colour. Then finally the encore, Vivian Ellis’s very familiar Coronation Scott, whizzed us away on another train with lots of musical panache and ensured that we all left the dome with our heads rattling with jolly earworms.

Susan Elkin

St Nikolas, Pevensey, Saturday 16 February 2019

It was good to welcome back Noteworthy Voices to Pevensey under their conductor Alexander Eadon. While to most of us Christmas is long gone the church’s calendar extends well into the new year and so it was not stretching things too far to mount a concert of a cappella music focussing on the scores created for the period immediately after Christmas Day.

Their eclectic programme ranged from early fifteenth century settings to the present day and ranged across the world for its sources. They opened with a group of English settings – Richard Rodney Bennett’s Out of your sleep, the quiet beauty of Britten’s A boy was born, the rolling cascades of Wishart’s Alleluya! A new work is come and the poignancy of Chivers Ecce puer.

We were then whisked back to the sixteenth century for Victoria’s wonderful setting of O Magnum Mysterium which was immediately followed by a more recent setting of the same text by Morten Lauridsen with its dense harmonies and superbly low lying ending.

Hymns to the Virgin followed with three modern works by Lennox Berkeley, Chris Chivers and Arvo Part surrounding the anonymous Ther is no rose of such vyrtew for high voices.

After the interval the male voices, positioned deep in the chancel, gave us the chanted phrases for the Magnificat, interspersed with improvisations for organ by Jean Titelouze dating from c1600, and played with convincing simplicty by Alexander Eadon. Mateo Flecha the Elder’s Riu riu chiu could hardly have been more different, coming as it did before Kenneth Leighton’s dark setting of the Coventry Carol. The section concluded with two familiar and beautiful works by Peter Warlock –Bethlehem Down and Benedicamus domino. The coming of the Kings brought the evening to a close with Philip Lawson’s Lullay my liking, the very familiar The three kings  by Cornelius – though on this occasion the solo voice almost disappeared within the enveloping warmth of the chorale – a traditional carol, Sing Lullaby, and finally, Jonathan Dove’s The three kings. This concluding item was somewhat disturbing. After the enthusiasm of so much of the music hailing the birth of Messiah and praising Mary, here was a setting darkly aware of the reality of the future for the family – the move into exile, the loss of status, the prophecy of death. It was a strange ending but none the less moving and effective.

Let us hope Noteworthy Voices return again soon.

The Dome, Brighton, Sunday 10 February 2019

On paper the three late romantic works looked as if they should make up a well-balanced programme but the outcome was not quite as one might have hoped. The first half was magnificent. Stephen Bell’s handling of the Prelude and Liebestod from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde was flawless. The limpid phrasing, the gentle, surging rubato and the intensity of the ensemble as a whole was magnificent. Would that we could hear him conduct a complete Tristan!

Then the orchestra was joined by soprano Camilla Roberts in Strauss’ Four Last Songs.  The sense of reconciliation with death was beautifully captured. There is no pain here, just acceptance, and the bird-song throughout – woodwind in glorious form – was particularly effective. A Wagnerian soprano, Camilla Robert’s voice carried with ease over the weight of Strauss’ orchestration and was breathtakingly effective in the third song Beim Schlafengehen. Here, leader John Bradbury’s lyrical violin solo lifts the expectation of the listener before the voice takes over to float effortlessly above. It is one of the finest moments in all of Strauss, and beautifully captured for us.

Understandably, after these heights it was going to be difficult for the second half to compete but Gliere’s First Symphony proved to be a limp and at times bombastic counter-weight. There was little either orchestra or conductor could do to make up for the banality of much of the writing and even where the orchestral colour impressed, the melodic invention seemed remarkably limited. The Russian textures carry the work forward but it regularly fails to engage. Only the third movement with its deep and sombre opening reaches any sense of nobility.

After such a moving first half this was a real pity. The BPO are too good an orchestra to be wasted on second rate music.