Monthly Archives: December 2015

Seaview Carol Concert

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St John’s, Pevensey Road, Hastings, Saturday 5 December 2015

This has been a good year for Seaview. The 30th birthday has brought The Big Sleep, among other events, to help the community at large realise how important it is to the area and the scope of its work.

It may be that the recent publicity brought more people to the carol service. This was certainly one of the largest congregations we have had for the event, which meant the singing was even more enthusiastic than normal.

The acoustic in the church is not helpful, and some of the speakers were not clearly heard at the rear of the church, but their love for Seaview, and their passion for its work, communicated even where the words did not get through.

now and then

No such problem with the music. The a cappella group Now & Then gave us fine versions of I saw three ships, January Lullaby and Driving cold winter away. They were followed by Seaview’s own choir who sang Silent Night and Once in Royal David’s City, and chanted Mary had a baby to great effect.

The final group were Sound Waves who brought us Past 3 o’clock, God rest ye merry, and a whimsically funny version of The Twelve Days of Christmas. They were joined by the Seaview Choir for a full version of Silent Night, before the music concluded with everyone joining them for Good King Wenceslas.

At this point everyone was able to move to the back of the church were refreshments were provided and a chance for people to chat and catch up with each other after a very busy few weeks.

 

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra

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The Dome, Brighton, Sunday 6 December 2015

An afternoon of warmly romantic music when the weather outside was wet and blustery. Stephen Bell’s enthusiasm is catching and he added a new layer of energy and life to a programme which was itself full of life-enhancing joy. Dvorak’s In Nature’s Realm may not be the most complex of scores but its sense of light and air was well captured and the melodic fragments danced throughout.

 

There was more weight to come from Strauss and Bruckner, and the former’s Horn Concerto was dynamically led by soloist Martin Owen. He created a noble, almost heroic, stance in the opening movement and this flowed over into the slow movement with its finely crafted cantabile sections. The bravura stance of the finale was highly effective and roused the audience to a genuinely enthusiastic reception.

Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony, the Romantic, is probably his most approachable for those unfamiliar with the majestic structures he creates. The opening shimmered into life and the climaxes were well built, with a real richness of tone. The brass, who had proved themselves more than able in the Strauss, here excelled themselves with superlative playing even when very exposed. The wonderful sparkle of the scherzo came fully to life and prepared us for the monumental impact of the fire of the finale.

There were a large number of empty seats this afternoon. For such a fine event – and such splendid playing – this was a real pity. Just because the programme did not include Mozart or Vivaldi should not mean that there is not magnificent music on offer.

Then next concert, on 31 January, brings us Weber, Prokofiev and Brahms – and don’t forget the New Year Concert on Thursday 31 December.

CDs / DVDs December 2015: 2

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Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony
Bejart Ballet Lausanne and The Tokyo Ballet
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Ritsuyakai Choir, Zubin Mehta
EUROARTS 2060878 88:00

What looks like a good idea in theory proves not to be quite so successful in practise. There have been adaptations of symphonic works for ballet so there is no reason this should not succeed but it lacks the revolutionary spirit the work requires. Maurice Bejart has been a compellingly effective choreographer over many years but his approach to the Choral is frequently muted and often conventional. Only the slow movement has any real beauty of line, and in the finale Zubin Mehta seems to be taking his time from the dancers rather than leading them which regularly inhibits the flow of the score. Added to this the soloists, while not inadequate, are certainly not the sort of voices one would wish to return to regularly. They are dressed in dark brown robes and the choir in white – rather too close to a Gospel choir for comfort. Those interested in the development of Maurice Bejart’s work may be interested but for the rest of us there is little here to recommend.

Wagner: Das Rheingold
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle
BR KLASSIK 900133
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden
NAXOS 8.660374-5

For those of us of a certain age it does not seem that long ago that there were no recordings of Das Rheingold. Recording companies thought nobody would buy it, and the original Solti recording was launched with a challenge to listeners to see if their speaker systems were up to the range of the recording.

This month we have two new recordings slipped out without the overt fanfare. Simon Rattle has never been an obvious Wagnerian. I can recall live performances which have been finely played but lacking the frisson of a great evening at the opera. It is so here with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and soloists. Michael Volle is a robust Wotan but none of the other soloists stand out as exceptional. Orchestral playing is fine but failed to excite me even in the obvious purple passages.

By contrast, Jaap van Zweden’s orchestra is playing the work for the first time and they seem to be thoroughly enjoying it. Balance is often unusual and one hears things as if for the first time. Matthias Goerne is certainly a match for Michael Volle, and Kim Begley, Peter Sidhom and Deborah Humble are more impressive than their German counter-parts. Both versions were recorded live and gain from the immediacy this brings, but it is the rest of the Hong Kong cycle which I will really be looking forward to.

Bach: Christmas Oratorio
Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, Bavarian Radio Choir, Peter Dijkstra
BR KLASSIK 900512

This new recording has a real sense of presence. The bite and attack from the players is exhilarating and the singing throughout brings joy as well as clarity. Though there are many recordings available at present, this new one has a great deal to commend it.

British Violin Concertos
Tasmin Little, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Davis
CHANDOS CHAN 10879

I wish I could be more enthusiastic about this recording but it leaves me distinctly underwhelmed. While the playing from both soloist and orchestra are fine, the actual works themselves are very much in the second division – worth a first hearing but I doubt if I would want to return to them with so many other great concerti to consider.

Janacek & Smetana String Quartets
Takacs Quartet
HYPERION CDA 67997

The combination of the Janacek string quartets with the Smetana may be an obvious one but it here makes exemplary sense in the fine quality of the playing and the obvious romantic links between the two composers. The acoustic in concert hall at the Wyastone Estate is particularly suitable for the richness of sound the Takacs Quartet provide throughout.

Sibelius: Jedermann
Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Leif Segerstam
NAXOS 8.573340

This is a disc of rarities. The incidental music for Jedermann was completed in haste in 1916. The score shows a wide variety of responses, the songs being instantly memorable from their strong lyrical qualities to shorter passages which are quintessentially Sibelian in their drifting melancholy. The disc also includes Two Serious Melodies and In Memoriam. The latter was completed in 1910 and was played at Sibelius’ funeral.

Sibelius: The Symphonies
Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Okko Kamu
BIS 2076

This newly released set was recorded live in the Sibelius Hall in Lahti between 2012 and 2014. It is certainly a fine match for the earlier recordings under Osmo Vanska. Okko Kamu took over as chief conductor in 2011 and brings both an international reputation and a real sense of Finnish understanding to his approach to the Symphonies. His tempi are noticeably slower than the majority of conductors with the exception of the Sixth Symphony which is brisk and pacey.I suspect one can never have too many recordings of these magnificent works.

BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales appoints Xian Zhang as Principal Guest Conductor

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Xian Zhang

BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales today announce that the conductor Xian Zhang has been appointed as Principal Guest Conductor, with effect from 1 September 2016 for an initial three year period.

Xian Zhang said: “I’m so excited to be working with BBC National Orchestra of Wales; they are a fantastic group of musicians who genuinely love making music, and are a natural team. They have some exceptional qualities that have really impressed me. The first thing we ever worked on together was Ravel’s Bolero, it was so precise, with the right colour and texture – I was really speechless after the first reading! Under the strong leadership of Lesley Hatfield, the musicians rehearse in such a disciplined manner that is not often seen. It’s a great pleasure to make music with them and I very much look forward to further developing our relationship in my new role with BBC NOW.”

Michael Garvey, Director, BBC NOW commented: ‘“I am thrilled to be welcoming Xian Zhang to the BBC NOW family as Principal Guest Conductor –bringing yet another exceptional artist to work with us, continuing our commitment to artistic excellence across Wales and further afield. Our recent concerts with her, in Swansea and the BBC Proms, were so energised, balanced and refined; we knew that an appointment would be the perfect fit. We look forward to seeing her back in Cardiff in September.”

During Zhang’s three-year appointment, she will conduct the orchestra in annual concerts at BBC Hoddinott Hall, St David’s Hall and Brangwyn Hall, with repertoire featuring Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Rimsky Korsakov and Berlioz in her first season. BBC NOW will also perform at the BBC Proms under Zhang’s baton during her tenure and embark on an ‘On the road’ tour around Wales.

On 27 Sept 2016 Zhang conducts her inaugural concert at BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff, with a programme featuring Tchaikovsky’sSymphony No 4 and Barber’s Violin Concerto, with Chloë Hanslip as soloist. Further highlights of Zhang’s 2016-2017 season include a performance at a prominent welsh music festival and a collaboration with Chinese composer Qigang Chen.

Proms history was made when Marin Alsop became the first woman to conduct the world famous Last Night of the Proms in 2013, and there is a growing wealth of female conductors regularly performing at the BBC Proms and working with the BBC’s orchestras. Xian Zhang will be the first female conductor to have a titled role with a BBC orchestra when she becomes BBC NOW’s Principal Guest Conductor next year.

Rhodri Talfan Davies, Director, BBC Wales, commented: ‘“BBC NOW have had an incredible year, and to top it off we are now announcing this exciting appointment. I’m confident that alongside Principal Conductor Thomas Søndergård, and our dedicated musicians, Xian’s creative input will ensure many more memorable moments in the coming seasons.”

Alan Davey, Controller, BBC Radio 3 said: “Following her stunning performance at this year’s BBC Proms in July, I’m delighted we have booked Xian Zhang for BBC NOW. She is a talented conductor who can bring her passion to bear at an artistically exciting time for the orchestra. The BBC Performing groups are in rude health and their role in the BBC Radio 3 family is essential, where they form the backbone of our concert broadcasts. I’d like to welcome Xian Zhang, and look forward to hearing her first BBC NOW concerts with us.”

Born in Dandong, China, Xian Zhang made her professional debut conducting The Marriage of Figaro at the Central Opera House in Beijing at the age of 20. She trained at Beijing’s Central Conservatory, earning both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees before moving to the United States in 1998. She was appointed the New York Philharmonic’s Assistant Conductor in 2002, subsequently becoming their Associate Conductor and the first holder of the Arturo Toscanini Chair. Zhang has served as Music Director of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi since September 2009 and has recently been announced as the next Music Director of New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

A regular conductor with the London Symphony and Royal Concertgebouw orchestras, Zhang’s recent highlights include her return to the BBC Proms with BBC NOW, as well as performances with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Gothenburg Symphony orchestras. This season, she debuts with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España, and she returns to the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and Orchestre National de Belgique. Zhang continues to work frequently in North America; recent performances have included a week of Chinese New Year concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. This season’s operatic performances include a return to English National Opera for La bohème and her debut with Den Norske Opera conducting La traviata in January. Following Zhang’s hugely successful production of Nabucco with Welsh National Opera in June 2014, which subsequently transferred to the Savonlinna Festival, she returns to the festival in summer 2016 to conduct Otello, marking her debut with the opera company itself.

Berlioz: Grande Messe des Morts

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Royal Albert Hall, 30 November 2015

RAH

There are some works that simply have to be heard live. No amount of score reading or listening to CDs can prepare you for your first exposure to Berlioz’ monumental work, and where better to hear it than in the Royal Albert Hall. Over the years I have heard the piece in a number of different venues but there is something about the Royal Albert Hall, with its Victorian extravagance, which suits it both visually and aurally. Since the baffles were first put in the acoustic has sharpened but still allows the sound to blossom and fill in a way which, when all the brass bands are in full flow, cannot fail to thrill.

Brian Wright had gathered together the Goldsmiths Choral Union and the Brighton Festival Chorus with an augmented Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This may not have been quite as large as Berlioz envisaged (there were only six timpanists not ten!) but it was more than adequate to lead us through the massive dynamic changes the composer requires. It was a pity therefore that the event had had an interval imposed upon it as we missed the dramatic contrast which Berlioz brings from the climactic ending of the Lacrimosa  and the hushed opening of the Offertoire.

Brian Wright seemed to have little difficulty managing the vast choral forces who brought accuracy and brightness of tone throughout. If the tenors seemed somewhat hesitant at the start of the Lacrimosa they soon recovered their nerve and returned to the passion they had given to the Rex tremendae.

Berlioz requires only one soloist but the tenor part lies very high and exposed. When one has the equally difficult task of filling the Royal Albert Hall it was a pleasure to find that James Edwards was equal to both. His heroic quality made the Sanctus assertive rather than ethereal, bringing a warmth to the final sections which can in other hands seem somewhat bleak.

The augmented orchestra seemed to be enjoying themselves and responded with great sensitivity, particularly the solo wind who can easily be lost within the weight of brass around them.

A great evening, then, and a comfortably full hall. Just one real gripe – apart from paying £4 for a packet of peanuts; the programmes had the full text and translation but as the performance started all the lights went out and we were left so dark it was impossible to read the text. Either keep the lights on or provide super-titles!