Positive Points about Selected Concerts - 2005/2006
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6th Sept 2006 - 7:30pm - The Assassin Tree
Linbury Studio Theatre, The Royal
Opera House, Covent Garden, London
Stuart MacRae's first opera was a platform for some good lighting
effects (with the moon at the back reflecting the moods and actions of the
plot) (lighting Henk Danner). Gillian Keith (Diana) sang with good intonation
throughout and the support of the Britten Sinfonia under conductor
Garry Walker was first class.
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3rd Sept 2006 - 2:30pm - The Freestyle Collective - with Belle
Harmony
The Donkey, Welford Road, Leicester
The rather seductively named Belle Harmony fronted this band, proving
to be Leicester's answer to Diana Ross. She offered some perfectly tuned high
notes and gentle swaying hips (it being not just her name that was seductive).
Perfect preparation for watching Leicester Tigers beat a very good looking Sale
team.
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St Nicholas Church, Leicester
Roger Swann = horn
A summers afternoon concert of wind quintet music presented as one of a
series of concerts making up Leicester's Castle Park Festival. The accoustic of
St Nicholas Church helped make this a successful event (as did the post music
scones, cream and jam).
The quintet worked well as an ensemble - some tight playing in "I
bought me a cat" (an adaption by Aaron Copland of a traditional American song,
arranged for wind quintet by Quincy C Hillard) and some delicate touches in
Mozarts string quartet "The Hunt" K458 (arranged for wind quintet by Geoffrey
Emerson) were among the highlights.
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19th Aug 2006 - 3:00pm - BBC Proms Saturday Matinee 3 -
Britten Sinfonia - Soloists of
the Mariinsky Theatre Academy of Young Singers - Andre de Ridder
Cadogan Hall, London
An exquisite opening trumpet solo (Nick Thompson) set the high standard
for this fascinating concert of unusal Shostakovich works. The concert included
visual projections of images associated with the works. The animated film "The
Tale of the Silly Baby Mouse" accompanied by Shostakovich's score had the whole
audience chuckling. Full marks to Andre de Ridder for his precise
synchronisation to the film.
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26th July 2006 - 8:15pm - John White (piano) - Mary Dullea (piano) -
Sarah Leonard (sop) - COMA East Midlands Ensemble - Kieran O'Riordan
Doncaster College, High Melton Campus, South Yorkshire
Roger Swann = horn (COMA East Midlands)
This concert was given as part of the COMA Summer School Festival.
As the support act, providing the first half of this concert, the COMA
East Midlands Ensemble built specacularly on the foundations laid in their
recent concert of 15th July (see below). Selecting five pieces from the earlier
programme and performing them all with greater accuracy and musical fluidity.
The control and ebb and flow that the ensemble brought to Lucy Pankhurst's
"Round" was really satisfying.
John White's selection formed the second half of this concert. By
programming his own works along side those of Erik Satie he was able to
demonstrate his affection for Satie's music and the way it has influenced his
own writing. As ever Sarah Leonard was faultless. Her singing in John White's
"Songs on the texts of Eric Satie" brought deserved chuckles from the audience.
This set really is a little gem.
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15th July 2006 - 7:30pm - COMA East Midlands Ensemble - Kieran
O'Riordan - Dana Morgan (flute) + Antony Clare (piano)
Djanogly Receital Hall, University of Nottingham
Roger Swann = horn
The COMA East Midlands Ensemble gave one of their better performances
during this concert which featured three world premiers and five pieces
composed by members of the ensemble. Anna Claydon's "Liberate Omnia" was
particularly well performed with the group capturing the impassioned mood of
the music rather well.
Dana Morgan and Antony Clare, as very welcome special guests,
entertained the audience with a technically varied selection of contemporary
flute music.
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8th July 2006 - 7:30pm - Knighton Chamber Orchestra - Paul Jenkins
Fraser Noble Hall, Leicester
Any concert which features a detailed line drawing of the Manchester
Public House on it's programme front cover has got to be good. Two serenades,
both representative masterpieces of master composers, formed the basis of this
informally presented concert (how refreshing to have cabaret style seating
around tables and to allow (and even encourage) the audience to sip wine during
the performance).
A characteristic Paul Jenkins twist to the performance of Mozart's Gran
Partita Serenade K361 was to preface it with a statement from Court Composer
Salieri (taken from Peter Shaffer's play "Amadeus") read with great panache by
Roger Scoppie.
The concert ended with a credibable account of Tchaikovsky's Serenade
for Strings Opus 48 - with Dai Parr coping manfully as the sole double bass
player.
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1st July 2006 - 7:30pm - Cantamici - David Necklen - with guests Jo
Conquest (flute) + Tor Bridges (piano)
Fraser Noble Hall, Leicester
A varied programme (bursting into life with a boistrous solo from the
musical director as they launched into a traditional South African song,
"Azikatale") where the audience was able to enjoy a glass of wine during the
performance meant it was the perfect antidote to an excess of world cup
football. Alan Bullard's Prayer for Peace worked well (sadly a little over
optimistic?).
Jo Conquest and Tor Bridges made a bright contrast to the
proceedings.
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The Coliseum, London.
Nixon in China is described by the composer, John Adams, as being an
"heroic" opera. Yet one was left with the impression that the four powerful
people on stage, Nixon, Mao and their two first ladies were all just humans
with the same difficulties as the rest of us. Very thought provoking.
Your reviewer does not claim to be an expert on dancing but Nicolah
Tranah looked captivating as the revolutionary ballet heroine Wu
Ching-hua.
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26th June 2006 - 7:30pm - The
Philharmonia Orchestra - Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos - Sergey Khachatryan
(Violin)
DeMontfort Hall, Leicester
The Philharmonia performed on many borrowed music, using a set of music
they had only borrowed from the CBSO at 6:20 this evening - all because of
their loaded lorry being impounded next to a major fire in Kings Cross. In
spite of this Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos drew some elegant and relaxed playing
from the band in the middle two movements of Mahler's first symphony (which he
conducted from memory).
The highlight of the concert was undoubtedly Sergey Khachatryan's
performance of the 1st Violin Concerto by Shostakovich. He stolled through the
fiendish technical demands of this piece, wallowed in the many
far-from-cheerful moments and played the two extended cadenzas with
breathtaking virtuosity.
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24th June 2006 - 7:30pm - The Bardi
Symphony Orchestra - Paul Hilliam - Diana Sharp - Nick Sales
de Montfort Hall, Leicester
Roger Swann = horn
A most enjoyable summers evening concert of "Opera's Greatest Hits"
made especially successful by the consistently excellent singing of both Diana
Sharp and Nick Sales. Their departure (to enjoy a short lived moment of bliss)
at the end of the exerpt from Puccini's La Boheme was perfectly judged - there
can't have been a dry eye in the house.
The beautiful section playing by the heavy brass at the start of
Verdi's Nabucco Overture is worthy of mention too.
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21st June 2006 - 7:45pm - University Choral Society, University
Singers, Proteus Chamber Orchestra - Willard Welsford - Martin Perkins - Tessa
Greenhalgh (sop) Caroline Sharpe (sop) Chloe Pritchard (alto)
Church of St John the Baptist, Leicester
Roger Swann = Horn
An enjoyable concert of 17th and 18th centuary Venetian music -
including two antiphonal works by Giovanni Gabrielli played as two instrumental
choirs from opposite balconies. Martin Perkins boldly elected for a very slow
tempo for the Sonata pian'e forte.
Willard Welsford directed an energetic rendering of Vivaldi's Gloria,
bringing out the joyful moments in this happy work to good effect.
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13th June 2006 -7:30pm - The Vienna Philhamonic Orchestra - Bernard
Haitink - Wolfgang Schulz (flute)
The Barbican Hall, London
From the opening bars of Mozart's Symphony No 32 (K318) it was clear
that this concert was going to be something special. The balance between
strings and woodwind and horns was marvellous. It really is wonderful to have
quality horn playing not overpowering the (in this case exquisite)
strings.
Haitink's pacing of Shostakovich's Symphony No 10 was faultless. He
instinctively knows when to increase tension and when to relax - and whilst
relaxing he never lets the audience go, there is always an onward undercurrent.
The tiny rays of sunshine in the otherwise ominous slow opening were perfectly
judged examples of this.
The sound the viola section make is awe inspiring. This was a great
gig.
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de Montfort Hall, Leicester
Roger Swann = horn / bass drum
A real hot summers evening, hot on the heels of Englands first victory
in the world cup made it less than ideal conditions for a concert. In spite of
this the sweltering audience was able to enjoy some characteristically tidy
horn playing from the principal horn (Simon Locke) and equally agile and
accurate piccolo playing from Jane Bevan.
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7th June 2006 - 7:30pm - The Makropulos Case - English National
Opera
The Coliseum, London.
Janacek's penultimate opera takes a while to get going - my fellow
audience member, senior solicitor Charles Reddish amusingly suggested at the
end of Act 1 that it was "like a normal day at my office". However by the final
curtain the complexities of making meaning out of this business called life had
been clearly voiced (in all senses) by the Emila Marty (Cheryl Barker), and
Janacek's score (full of typical Janacek whoops and swirls) had developed to a
passionate anguished climax.
There were no sign of first night nerves from conductor Alexander
Briger (who was taking over from Charles Mackerras for this (and all remaining)
performance(s).
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3rd June 2006 - 7:30pm - University of Leicester Sinfonia - Michael
Sackin
Church of St John the Baptist, Leicester
Roger Swann = Horn
A sparse audience was able to enjoy an attractive set of floral
decorations (left over from a wedding earlier in the day) and also a glass of
Cabernet/Shiraz from Mendoza (Argentina).
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Kurpark-Terrassen, Aachen, Germany
Roger Swann = horn
A repeat of the previous evenings programme, this time in the sunlit
(OK, with heavy showers too) surrounds o of the Kurpark-Terrassen proved to be
an informal, but none the less concentrated, bit of music making.
Credit must go to the conductor for maintaining musical intensity
whilst surrounded by german waitresses porting trays of beer to the
audience.
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The Frienskirche, Krefeld, Germany
Roger Swann = horn
Pavel Kotla directed an atmospheric performance of Weber's Oberon
overture, in which Simon Locke's (principal horn) opening horn solo set the
standard for the rest of the concert.
The large audience gave a particularly enthusiastic response to
Tchaikowsky's 6th Symphony (Pathetique).
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13th May 2006 - 7:30pm - The Rutland Sinfonia - Peter Wadl - Nadia
Wijzenbeek (violin)
The Vale of Catmose College, Oakham, Rutland
Roger Swann = horn
Nadia Wijzenbeek coped admirably with the unforgiving accoustic of the
Vale of Catmose College hall - making a big sound and playing with excellent
intonation. (Refer to the review of the 8th April 05 Sinfonia ViVA concert for
more views on performing concerts in "dead" halls).
The concert package included a first class programme, including
informative and intelligable notes about each piece (programme notes
uncredited).
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6th May 2006 - 4:00pm - Gotterdammerung - The Royal Opera
The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London
This was an evening of theatre at it's best. Covent Garden consistently
shines with it's production quality and this evening was a supreme example (set
design: Stefanos Lazaridis, lighting: Wolfgang Gobbel). As my collegue Edward
Waring accurately observed "Covent Garden do do fire well" and the buring of
Valhalla.... well you had to be there.
Lisa Gasteen (Brunnhilde) sung at full wack all night and sounded like
she could have done it all over again.
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8th April 2006 - 7:30pm - La Belle Helen - English National Opera
The Coliseum, London.
Great to enjoy an opera at The Coliseum presented with sur-titles.
This was an evening of pure frivolous fun - of the highest quality.
Including lines such as "I'm Barking, - yes, I'm often barking" [Offenbach-ing]
Kit Hesketh-Harvey's translation was the star of the show, even when surrounded
by good singing from all roles. The aforementioned Offenbach's music still
sounds as fresh and attractive as the day it was written.
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3rd April 2006 7:45pm - Houghton Music Club Concert
St Catharine's Church, Houghton-on-the-Hill, Leics
Roger Swann = Conductor (HP Sauce)
This was your reviewers last performance as director of The Houghton
Philharmonic Symphonic Assembly Using Children and Elders. The orchestra
achieved the rich Strauss sound in Harold Perry's rather effective arrangement
of Melodies from Der Rosenkavalier - particularly in the slow tranquil opening
passages.
This was contrasted with a pleasing performance of Lehar's Gold &
Silver Waltz (a piece which also featured in the first ever HP Sauce concert
way back in November 1990) and a very vivacious rendition of the Finale from
Beethoven's 5th Symphony (arr Charles Woodhouse). This was a great note to end
on!
It is with great pleasure that your reviewer records his gratitude for
the generous gift presented by the musicians during the interval of the
concert. This included a very healthy portion of
Theatre Ticket Vouchers which will
fund some serious opera visits in the future.
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de Montfort Hall, Leicester
Roger Swann = horn
The striking thing about this concert was the string sound Claus Efland
produced from the regular (infact somewhat diminished) Bardi string players. In
Beethovens Violin Concerto (given a particularly soft and relaxed
interpretation by Helena Wood) there were some beautiful hushed pianissimo
passages.
In Strauss' Alpine Symphony the strings played out of their skins -
making a real "Straussian" tone which certainly must have helped to inspire the
wind, brass and percussion sections. A full offstage brass section (12 horns, 2
trumpets and 2 trombones) were also on good form for the short but crucial
'hunting horns' passage. In short this was the Bardi Orchestra playing at their
[alpine] peak.
Here's a photo of the on stage horn section: Horns 1 to 4: Mark Penny
(with Guy Llewellyn bumping), Julian Haslam, Yours Truly (droopy bow tie), Roz
Saunders, Horns 5 to 8 doubling wagner tubas: Robert Parker, Martin Gilding,
Simon Locke and Pete Dyson (photo: David Calow).
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25th March 2006 - 7:30pm - The Helix Ensemble - Jacques Cohen -
Michelle Taylor (violin)
All Saints Parish Church, Loughborough, Leics
Roger Swann = horn
A typically enterprising Helix Ensemble concert centered around a
performance of Leonard Pegg's (1882-1915) violin concerto. This work, written
towards the end of Pegg's tragically short life, was performed for the first
time in nearly a hundred years using parts especially prepared for the occasion
by Jacques Cohen. The piece featured many moments of interest, all brought
persuasively to the attention of the audience by Michelle Taylor who must have
spent a considerable amount of time preparing the piece. Her faultless
intonation was a joy to listen to and her lyrical playing of the final theme on
the G string bringing the slow movement to a close was a highlight of the
concert.
Jacques Cohen went on to direct an energetic account of Beethoven's
happy fourth symphony. Plenty of buzz and frission kept the music alive and
ebullent.
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18th March 2006 - 7:30pm - Proteus Chamber Orchestra - University
Singers - Martin Perkins
Church of St James the Greater, Leicester
The Mozart 250 celebrations mean that some less frequently performed
Mozart works are receiving performances, such as his Great Mass in C minor
(K427) here filled out with two Church Sonatas (K278 and K329) (a decision
explained in the programme notes as being taken for musical aesthetics rather
than any particular historical justification - certainly the sonatas seemed to
fit very comfortably in the performance).
Soprano Abigail Kelly impressed with her clear sound and very good
intonation. Martin Perkins ensured that the diction of the choir was audible
throughout. His orchestra had a noticeably visually attentive viola and cello
section.
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14th March 2006 -7:15pm - The Flying Dutchman - Welsh National Opera -
Gareth Jones
The Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham
Great to hear Bryn Terfel in fine form - with every word clearly
audible and sung from the heart. Annalena Persson as Senta really hit the roof
on one or two notes too (wow!).
It is not possible to find anything positive to say about the
production (David Pountney) - hopelessly out of synch with the libretto and far
to much cluttered video activity (Jane & Louise Wilson) which distracted
from the essence of Wagner's turbulent score. Reminder - your reviewer did
enjoy the skilful use of video by the same artists at the ROH production of The
Knot (see Review of 3rd May 2005).
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10th March 2006 -7:30pm - Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra - Riccardo
Chailly
The Barbican Hall, London
Mahler's 7th Symphony performed to a virtually full house - and what a
performance. Spectacular playing by the first horn was matched by players
throughout this fine orchestra. Riccardo Chailly took special care of dynamics
and balance, really bringing the score alive. It was great to actually hear the
Mandolin and Guitar parts.
By ensuring a period of absolute silence before the start of each
movement the conductor brought to the attention of the audience an anoying
continuous background hum (air conditioning). This is unacceptable in one of
the capitals main concert halls. Barbican management please take note.
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8th March 2006 - 7:30pm - Kathryn Stott - Endellion String Quartet
Fraser Noble Hall, Leicester
After a faultless first half featuring Kathryn Stott (Haydn variations
in F minor) and then the Endellion String Quartet (Beethoven's Quartet in E
flat major, Op127) the concert really came alive in the second half when the
artists combined forces to perform Brahms' Piano Quintet in F minor. The sheer
power of the music was immediately striking.
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7th March 2006 - 7:30pm - Wozzeck - The Royal Opera
The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London
The key thing about Keith Warner's production was the presence of the
young child throughout the opera. Always observing (either directly or
sublimely) it meant that at the end the damage inflicted on (and by) Wozzeck
and Marie is seen to have another more significant victim.
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4th March 2006 - 7:30pm - The Derby Bach Choir - Richard Roddis -
Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Adrian Thompson, Mathew Rose
Derby Cathedral, Derby
Roger Swann = horn
Fine singing by the Derby Bach choir, skilfully prepared by Richard
Roddis was always going to make this performance of Elgar's Dream of Gerontius
a success. But nothing prepared us for the superb singing from the three top
quality soloists. Adrian Thompson's pleading as Gerontius left a lump in the
throat and Catherine Wyn-Rogers angelic lines were similarly impassioned.
Audience and musicians alike were on a high at the end of this gig. And
the beer (Black Sheep) in the Dolphin, conveniently situated next to the
Cathedral was excellent too.
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10th Feb 2006 - 7:30pm - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - BBC National
Chorus of Wales- Tadaaki Otaka - Lisa Milne (sop) - Birgit Remmert
(mezzo).
St Davids Hall, Cardiff, Wales
An exciting performance of Mahlers Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection" was
enjoyed by a capacity audience (in fact over capacity: prior to the start a
gentleman approached me with a ticket that matched the seat your reviewer was
sitting in - a problem that seemd to be dealt with courteously and efficiently
by the stewards.)
There was a brass choral passage played by the trombones and tuba which
was just perfect (Principal trombone: David Whitehouse). Birgit Remmert's voice
perfectly suited Mahler's contemplative writing.
The lighting on the chorus (singing from memory) was raised only after
there first hushed entry - a subtle but very effective change to the
atmosphere.
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4th Feb 2006 - 7:30pm - The Bardi
Symphony Orchestra - Andrew Constantine - Ilya Finkelshteyn (cello)
de Montfort Hall, Leicester
Roger Swann = horn
A large audience gave Andrew
Constantine a deservedly warm reception. Andrew's work colleague, the
principal 'cellist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra gave a restrained and
sophisticated performance of Dvorak's Cello Concerto. He drew a strikingly
silky smooth tone from his instruement.
Andrew Constantine had a fluid interpretation of Beethoven's ground
breaking Eroica Symphony. His sense of phrasing (and communication of this
through his baton technique) was carefully thought out resulting in a cohesive
performance of this complicated work.
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2nd Feb 2006 - 7:30pm - Salome (concert performance) - Opera North -
Richard Farnes
The Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham
Good to hear Strauss' score in a good concert hall acoustic, allowing
the extravagant range of orchestral colours to come through with ease. For
example your reviewer was previously unaware of the significant amount of solo
writing for the leader (all admirably played by David Greed). The whole
orchestra played well - Strauss' orchestral impersonation of the wind was
amazing!
The fine band was matched by the more than competent singing from the
lead roles (Salome, Susan Bullock and Jokanaan, Daniel Sumegi).
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28th Jan 2006 - 7:30pm - University of Leicester Sinfonia - Michael
Sackin - Sebastian Millett ('cello)
Fraser Noble Hall, Leicester
Roger Swann = Horn
A very ambitious programme of 19th centuary french music included two
magical pieces by Saint-Saens. Rachel Carlin stood out from her woodwind
colleagues with some very sensitive playing in Le Rouet d'Omphale Op 31.
Sebastian Millett, in his third appearance with this orchestra, played
the Op 33 cello concerto with great fluidity enjoying every chance to make the
tempos ebb and flow. He seemed completely impervious to the bands erratic
following of some of these undercurrents !
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14th Jan 2006 - 7:30pm - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - Richard
Hicox - Nicholai Lugansky (piano)
St Davids Hall, Cardiff, Wales
Nicholai Lugansky lived up to his high reputation with a sparkling
performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1.
Some virtuosic playing by all members of the orchestra made
Stravinsky's Pulcinella (here performed as the complete ballet [with vocal
parts] rather than the more frequently played suite) very special. Dominic
Seldis played the taxing double bass solo with consummate ease - it positively
danced along!
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14th Jan 2006 - 2:30pm - Performance of Schubert Octet in aid of roof
repairs of....
St Augustine's Church, Rugeley, Staffs
Roger Swann = horn
Players from a wide area of England came together under Christine
Auton's efficient (and enthusiastic) organisation for this afternoon
performance of Schubert's magnificent Octet in F maj Op 166.
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12th Dec 2005 - 7:30pm - Beware the Jabberwocky - Leicester Arts in
Education Youth Theatre
Knighton Fields Centre Theatre, Herrick Road, Leicester
A play with music created and developed by the young people of the
Leicestershire Arts Youth Theatre group based loosely on the poem in Lewis
Caroll's Alice Through the Looking Glass. Some good performances and effective
musical interludes, but the real star was the Jabberwock himself, rather
spectacularly created as a DVD projection of a film of a puppet monster.
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6th Dec 2005 - 7:30pm - London Sinfonietta Chamber Music
School of Music, Cardiff University, Wales
Four members of the London Sinfonietta [ Janic Graham (violin), Tim
Gill ('cello), John Constable (piano) and Mark van de Wiel (clarinet) ]
attracted an audience of around two hundred for their programme of contemporary
chamber music.
Inevitably the musical shining light was Messiaen's Quartet for the End
of Time and almost as inevitably the clarinet playing of Mark van de Wiel was
breathtaking.
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4th Dec 2005 - 6:30pm - Fund Raising Concert for Shoe Box Appeal
St. Mary's Church, Knighton, Leicester
Roger Swann = horn (in Franz Strauss' Theme and Variations (op 13)
The first festive event of the season with a large audience enjoying a
varied programme of verse and music performed by people of all ages. Some good
readings by Richard Gill including his own "The Christmas Saint"
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de Montfort Hall, Leicester
Roger Swann = horn
A very large audience enjoyed a romp through Tchaikovsky's (and Paul
Dukas') greatest hits.
Guest leader Anthony Protheroe made some valuable constructive comments
during rehearsals.
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1st Dec 2005 - 7:00pm - Leicestershire Arts in Education Christmas
Concert
de Montfort Hall, Leicester
The massed primary schools choir provided a very colourful backdrop to
the proceedings and took the audiences breath away with a perfectly executed
simultaneous stand under the direction of Sophie Pascall.
The Junior Strings, conducted by Jeremy Jackson, played with a good
sense of rhythm and ensemble. Some dynamic contrast made the music more
effective. It was good to hear the second violin section shine through in
"Marco Takes a Walk" by Sheila Nelson.
The musical highlight was the performance of "Stephenson's Rocket"
played by the Training Band under the direction of Patrick White.
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8th Nov 2005 7:45pm - Houghton Music Club Concert
The Village Hall, Houghton-on-the-Hill, Leics
Roger Swann = Conductor (HP Sauce)
The Houghton Philharmonic Symphonic Assembly Using Children and Elders
tackled (and won, albeit with minor bruising) the "Fancy Dress Suite" by
Armstrong Gibbs, and then followed this with the more enjoyable (from an
audience perspective) Trumpet Concerto by Haydn. Alan Tompkins (a valued
regular member of the HP Sauce brass section) made a splendid sound as our
soloist.
Special guests "Four + One" played an excellent arrangement of
Puccini's "Chrysanthemums" by Geoffrey Emerson. This was matched by Houghton
Singers who included two negro spirituals arranged by Gwyn Arch.
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3rd Nov 2005 - 7:30pm - The Midsummer Marriage - The Royal Opera
The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London
This was an evening of spectacular theatre - with some carefully
thought out effects always staying on the side of "Gimmiky". Director Graham
Vick's use of the spiral staircase down to hell gave the descent of the stairs
at Covent Garden tube station additional meaning (your reviewer regards the
ascent and descent of these 196 steps as part of his keep fit regime)
All the singing was good, highlights were perhaps Cora Burggraaf
(Bella) and John Tomlinson (King Fisher)
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1st Nov 2005 - 7:30pm - Some Girls are Bigger than Others - Anonymous
Society
The Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Warks.
A very dense 90 minutes with every (corny) choreography trick in the
book thrown in in front of a distracting video and live string quartet. The
singing and string playing were actually pretty good but there was just so much
going on unremittingly that you came out thinking it was all a blur.
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28th Oct 2005 - 8:00pm - Salome - English National Opera
The Coliseum, London.
The ENO have never presented a stronger case for the use of surtitles.
Sitting in the upper circle virtually all of the libretto was drowned by
Strauss' opulant (but exceedingly luscious) scoring. The subtleties of the plot
therefore escaped most audience members and a potentially magnificent evening
became merely satisfactory.
Conductor Kwame Ryan admittedly allowed the band to "go for it" from
time to time - but this is how Strauss demands to be played.
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23rd Oct 2005 - 6:00pm - Festival Gala Concert Finale - The 25th
British Horn Festival
The Guildhall School of Music, London
Everyone in the hall was stunned by Frank Lloyd's technique, playing an
impromptu unaccompanied horn solo using all the (very) extremes of the
instrument, with copious blues slurs and bends and equally copious terrifyingly
accurate chords.
It was fun too to see the BHS president, Barry Tuckwell, clearly
enjoying conducting a massed horn ensemble (with a good representation of
youngsters) in Alan Civil's effective arrangement of Beethoven's Egmont
Overture.
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23rd Oct 2005 - 3:30pm - British Chamber Music for Horn - The 25th
British Horn Festival
The Guildhall School of Music, London
A chance to hear Richard Bissill play his own composition "Lone Horn
Call and Charge" for unaccompanied horn. Another highlight was the refined,
tastefully polished playing of Steven Stirling (joining forces with the Eberle
Quartet to play Stanford's Fantasy for Horn and String Quartet).
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22nd Oct 2005 - 4:00pm - Siegfried - The Royal Opera
The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London
The band, under the direction of Antonio Pappano, sounded beautiful
throughout, responding effortlessly to the demands of Wagner's magnificent
score. Incredibly hushed bass clarinet playing is only one example of the
quality music making on show.
The singing from the lead singers was the equal of the orchestral
playing too: Gerhard Siegel (Mime), John Treleaven (Siegfried) and John
Tomlinson (Wotan).
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de Montfort Hall, Leicester
Roger Swann = horn
The first concert of the season found the Bardi Orchestra on top form
inspired by Claus Efland's productive well planned rehearsals and his deep feel
for the music during the performance. Your reviewer heard him described as
being "intensely musical" - and hereby acknowledges the accuracy of this
description.
The concert was heard by a very large audience and the quality singing
of the Bardi Symphony Chorus (chorus master Giles Turner) in Orf's Carmina
Burana had them literally whistling in the aisles.
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11th Oct 2005 - 7:45pm - Houghton Music Club Performers Evening
Houghton on the Hill, Leicestershire
Roger Swann = horn
A typically varied program, with an untypically small attendance, which
means many Houghton Music Club members missed the chance to hear the stark,
haunting, solo singing of Jayne Stanton.
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Great Hall, Trent Building, University of Nottingham.
Roger Swann = horn (for COMA East Midlands)
Antony Clare's mesmerising playing of "Incarnation II" by Somei Satoh
was the highlight of a very varied first half.
The emotional core of the event was Steven Montague's "Dark Sun" - a
piece written by him as a commission for COMA and as a commemoration of the
50th Anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima (which
detonated at 09:15 hrs on 6th Aug 1945). The COMA Allcomers ensemble had been
working on the piece all day, under the skilful direction of the composer. The
resultant collage of sounds was at times haunting and at others mind blowingly
loud. Certainly the performance can't help but be thought provoking for all
those present.
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24th Sept 2005 - 7:30pm - Gill Sibley Memorial Concert -
The Helix Ensemble - David
Greed
All Saints Church, Cotgrave, Notts.
Roger Swann = horn
David Greed shone as both soloist and director in Vivaldi's Autumn from
the Four Seasons, not being intimidated by the comfortable but quite revealing
acoustic of All Saints Church. His Autumn makes no attempt at "period
performance" but rather enjoys the music to its full, romantic glory,
generating a matching powerful sound from the Helix Strings (firmly underpinned
by David Walker's quality double bass playing).
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22nd Sept 2005 - 7:30pm - Maskarade - The Royal Opera
The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London
A really fun start to the season at Covent Garden. David Pountney's
(who both directed the production and provided the English translation used)
deliberately contrived rhyming couplets appealed to your reviewers juvenile
sense of humour, who hopes that his audible chuckling wasn't too annoying for
neighbouring (more restrained) opera lovers.
The production was breathtakingly colourful, full of clever effects
(but no gymics) and the pace was quick throughout. The singing was uniformly
excellent with much of the dialog easily audible even way up in the
amphitheatre seats. The angled "picture postcard" presentation (complete with
sloping sur-titles) created a stage with a cartoon character to match the
characters of the players.
Neilson's very "busy" score seemed no trouble for the orchestra under
the direction of Michael Schonwandt.
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