Daily Archives: 12 October, 2019

Maidstone Symphony Orchestra

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The Mote Hall, Maidstone, Saturday 12 October 2019

The new season opened in a blaze of warmth and power with Chabrier’s popular Espana. The large orchestra – close to a hundred players – were essentially there for the Strauss in the second half but it made for a large scale and highly extrovert reading of a work too often heard simply as background music to other activities.

If the rest of the evening was less familiar it was none the less welcome. Callum Smart was the soloist in Korngold’s Violin Concerto. If this is not a work which comes immediately to mind when one thinks of the concerto repertoire it certainly has considerable appeal, even though the opening is stark and often feels remote. The odd flashes of warmth display the cinematic origins of the score as does the gentle romanticism of the slow movement. The finale is all bluster and fire, with lurking pirates and historical romances hidden beneath the heroic dances and fanfares. Callum Smart’s warm sense of engagement almost convinced us it was a great work.

After the interval we had Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben released upon us in all its magnificent opulence and virility. Strauss uses the vast panoply of forces at his command to milk both the tonal and emotional palette, and frequently overwhelms with the sheer level of volume – no wonder the orchestra need the new protective shields. Yet within this score there are many hauntingly beautiful moments and many passages of fine solo playing. This highlights a somewhat strange dichotomy within the programming. The solo violin part, admirably played by guest leader Andrew Laing, is effectively a violin concerto in its own right, so that we ended up with two lengthy violin solos by two fine violinists. All very much to our benefit but unexpected if you were not ready for it.

Throughout Brian Wright had galvanised his large forces with tact and skill, particular in the rabble-rousing passages in the Strauss which raised the hair on the back of your neck.

We are on more familiar ground on 30th November when John Lill joins the orchestra for Brahms’ 2nd piano concerto, plus Schumann’s 4th symphony and Beethoven’s final overture for Fidelio.

Hastings Early Music Festival 17 – 20 October 2019

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This year the internationally famous vocal ensemble, I Fagiolini, will be performing their new immersive concert ‘Leonardo Shaping the Invisible’ – celebrating the artist on the 500th anniversary of his death – at St Mary in the Castle on Friday 18th October. This critically acclaimed programme, introduced by Leonardo expert Professor Martin Kemp, will match projections of Da Vinci’s iconic art with vocal masterworks.

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW

The Festival opens with a Concert by Candlelight also at St Mary’s on Thursday 17th October, performed by Hastings Early Music Festival Baroque, the Festival Ensemble, comprising of international period instrument specialists.

For the other events, BBC New Generation Artists the Consone Quartet perform at the Kino Teatr at the Sunday afternoon chamber music platform, and pianist Jan Rautio performs Bach In Focus at the Friday morning coffee concert.  Each concert has a parallel supporting event, including open rehearsals and a chance to speak to performers.

Full details can be found at www.hemf.co.uk and tickets are now available.

 

Hastings Philharmonic – new season

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St Mary in the Castle, Friday 11 October 2019

To open the new season Hastings Philharmonic came together with Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition, the central work for the concert being Mozart’s Piano Concerto No23 in A with this year’s First Prize Winner, Fumiya Koido as soloist. It proved to be a winning combination, greatly helped by the full raised platform allowing the sound, in what is already a fine acoustic, to blossom and fill the space with ease and power.

 

The approach to the concerto by both pianist and conductor seemed clean and crisp at the outset, almost cool at times, with great clarity of articulation and individual orchestral voices. Real emotion evolved with the central Adagio with its gently flowing lines and suppressed intensity. The final Allegro assai sparkled into life and remained cheerfully optimistic throughout. An encore would have been nice but did not materialise.

The evening had opened with Mozart’s Haffner symphony, No35 in D. It had fine bravura in the opening movement and delicate figuration in the second. The militaristic approach to the Menuetto – I wouldn’t like to try to dance to this! – led into a fiery, fast-paced conclusion. Within St Mary’s the change in instrumentation which Mozart choses between the symphony and the concert was marked and particularly effective in underlining the change of tone and mood.

The second half brought us Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony – a work still surprisingly under-performed compared with the rest of the canon. The reserved, cautious opening gave way to an abrasive onslaught which never seems to be able to decide whether it wants to seduce us or batter us into submission. The intimacy of the opening of the slow movement brings some respite, with lovely running cello lines and wind figuration, but the returning power of the Scherzo soon puts this out of mind. Marcio da Silva takes the Finale at a hell-for-leather pace, which the orchestra are more than capable of meeting. The Mozartian figuration of the string writing is bombarded by the brass as if demanding an exultant climax, to which the strings eventually submit.

A splendid start to the season with so much more to come.