** Positive Notes about Various Concerts **
Season - 2021/2022
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Even the amazing lady Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II cannot defeat the circle of life. Her death after such a long and elegant reign is a historic event. It is a sad end to this season's concert review.
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6th Sept 2022 - 19:30 hrs - Royal Scottish National Orchestra - Thomas Sondergard - Nicola Benedetti (violin)
Royal Albert Hall, London
Three derivative works (Ades: Suite from "Powder Her Face", Britten: Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes and Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story) all demonstrated the range of orchestral colour that can be achieved with a classy symphony orchestra. Strangely they all left your reviewer with the desire to "see the whole show" rather than just these "chunks".
In contrast, Wynton Marsalis' violin concerto was given it's prom premier by the amazing Nicola Benedetti. Three quarters of an hour seemed enough for the composer to draw on just about every great bit of music Szymanowski (loads of high high E string playing - no problem for Ms Benedetti), Copland, Rachmaninov, Stephane Grappelli (the piece included a jazz duet cadenza with kit drum (Matt Skelton)), scottish folk fiddling.... The list was endless but the way all of these assorted moments were simply rammed up against each other did make the piece feel "endless" at times too.
Simply memorising this whole work must be regarded as an achievement but in addition Nicola Benedetti's playing was both technically and musically astounding.
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29th July 2022 - 20:00 hrs - Confusions - Colyton Theatre Group
Colyton Town Hall, Colyton, Devon
Presenting three of the five plays that Alan Ayckbourn put together as "Confusions" the Colyton Theatre Group opened the bar at 19:00 and encouraged the audience to turn up early with a picnic.
As a result we were all in a fine mood to enjoy the witty writing of Ayckbourne brought to life by some good acting on stage. Steph Letten was particularly believable as the "mother figure" dealing with intrusive neighbours and your reviewer also rather enjoyed the delightfully conservative councilor "Mrs Pearce" played by Tish Wells in "Gosforth's Fete".
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17th July 2022 - 19:30 hrs - Ninebarrow
St Andrew's Church, Colyton, Devon
Presented by The Friends of St Andrew's Church, this was Ninebarrow's second visit to thie beautiful church (the first being four years ago).
The duo (Jon Whitley and Jay Labouchardiere) certainly have a natural vocal empathy : perfect intonation throughout. Singing in the "folk music" tradition in the sense of the musical tonality and including copious ballads this was none the less a high tec. event: lots of button pressing, some use of digital "looping" (just about staying the right side of the "excessive" line) and all instruments being amplified.
The event was made all the more enjoyable by the pre-concert drinks served on the church green.
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Vikki Hewitt in action !
Rock Choir preparing for action !
The team at Bridwell are doing a great job at keeping their estate open and welcoming. The craft fayre was an ideal opportunity for the Rock Choir to go through their new repertoire. Their performance was enjoyed by all, both young and old (Great to see some good movers in the age 3 to 5 bracket).
Your reviewer enjoyed a truly splendid venison burger too!
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11th Jul 2022 - 19:15 hrs - The Blue Woman - Conductor: Jamie Man
A short "opera" (no real acting or visual movement and no real narrative) that even so far outstayed it's welcome. The libretto (Laura Lomas) consisted of four women repeating the basic (indisputable) concept that the after effects of rape stay with you for ever.
But the reputation did nothing to interest the audience. There were no characters to feel sympathy for and no thought provoking questions to take away...
The music was a master class in extended 'cello technique but without any sense of direction. The use of electronics and amplification reduced the subtlety of expression (as it invariably does) and some of the quieter spoken passages were lost (sound designer Mathew Fairclough).
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Sidmouth Paris Church, Devon
Roger Swann = horn
James Girling joined the orchestra for "Fantasia para un gentilhombre" by Joaquin Rodrigo. A strange piece that seems to take a while to get going, but the orchestra and soloist were full of Spanish sprit by the end!
Spirit of a more gutsy kind formed the second half : Dvorak's 8th Symphony, a piece packed full of good tunes with a feeling of dance throughout.
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13th June 2022 - 19:30 hrs - Samson et Dalila - Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Richard Jone's production featured a modern setting for this biblical tale. With much to enjoy on stage the real interest was in the score with Saint Saens sounding remarkably wagnerian at times. As ever the ROH orchestra string sections made light work of the composers copious fast passages.
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28th May 2022 - 19:30 hrs - EX4 Orchestra - Tim Pither - Eliana Razzino Yang ('cello)
United Reformed Church, Southernhay, Exeter
Eliana Razzino Yang was so elegantly relaxed in her performance of the Dvorak 'Cello Concerto that she had the audience and orchestra under her spell from her first note. What a lyrical, graceful, piece this is in her hands. Most definitely a name to watch out for.
The audience made generous donations towards the disaster appeal for Ukraine.
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22nd May 2022 - 15:00 hrs - The Leicester Symphony Orchestra - Quentin Clare - Nicholas Daniel (oboe)
De Montfort Hall, Leicester
Nicholas Daniel played the Vaughan Williams oboe concerto with effortless ease. He is a very enthusiastic and persuasive ambassador for this rarely performed work.
Having opened the concert with the technically challenging Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes the orchestra chose the equally challenging 5th Symphony of Shostakovich as the second half work. A symphony full of cold passion it did give a chance for all sections to show their talent. Christing Griggs (oboe) really caught the right atmosphere in the slow movement.
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19th May 2022 - 19:45 hrs - Boeing Boeing - Director: Michael Cabot
The first night of a UK tour continuing through to July by London Classic Theatre of this farce writen in the early 1960s proved to be a slick and well acted source of good laughs!
Inevitably some aspects of the play feel a little dated but all six characters were convincingly portrayed and the snowballing of potential disasters so ensential to a good farce came across well. Your reviewer's interval discussion of "how is it going to end" resulted in different guesses, none of which proved correct!
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12th May 2022 - 19:30 hrs - Don Pasquale - Conductor: Giacomo Sagripanti
After last night's sublime Wagner, Donizetti might have been expected to feel like "the ridiculous". Perhaps it was, but only in the most positive sense. Lots of fun underpinned by some delightful music, delicately orchestrated by the composer.
The orchestra's playing of the overture was fizzing with wit and worth the ticke price alone!
Lucio Gallo replaced the advertised Bryn Terfel (who seems to very much pick and choose which gigs he actually turns up for) and did a great job but the real star singing was from Zuzana Marková as Norina. Good to see her get her true love in the end!
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11th May 2022 - 18:00 hrs - Lohengrin - Conductor: Jakub Hruša
Really strong performances from the two key ladies: Maida Hundeling as Ortrud and Jennifer Davis as Elsa. This really is a tough sing for them both (curtain down at 22:45).
Wagner's glorious score was allowed to flow by conductor Jakub Hruša; it just washes over you with one sublime moment after another. The chorus were also magnificent (and received voiceiferous support from the audience as a result).
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St Andrew's Church, Colyton, Devon
A concert promoted (but not well publicised in the town of Colyton) by East Devon Music Festival gave the audience a chance to enjoy three fairly frequently played items from the orchestral repertoire rescored for flute, violin, 'cello and piano.
This is not such a recent idea: Mozart's Symphony No. 35 ("Haffner") K385 was played in an arrangement by Hummel (1778 - 1837). All four members of this group are fine players and Hummel's arrangement came across very effectively.
You might have thought that reducing Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet suite to just four players would be an impossible task but the group's violinist, Eleanor Corr, achieved this very successfully and she and her colleagues gave her arrangement a really spirited energetic performance.
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Sidmouth Paris Church, Devon
Roger Swann = horn
Elgar's amazing violin concerto was in safe hands with violinst Joo Yeon Sir's complete mastery of the many daunting technical challenges the work presents.
She wasn't at all frightened to enjoy every emotional swirl that Elgar offers (nearly every phrase is marked with some expressive tempo change) and her seemingly effortless performance meant that her sometimes very extravagant slow tempos seemed to increase (rather than dimminish) the intensity of the performance.
The Elgar was a tough act to follow but Roger Hendy had chosen another masterful composer, Sibelius, at the top of his game with his third symphony Op 52. Another piece full of rubato which Roger Hendy was careful to not overdo. It does have a great rousing C chord pedal coda!
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The Gateway, Seaton, Devon
A "classical" programme of Haydn, Mozart and Schubert might, on paper, seem a little restrictive but the three pieces showed remarkable variety in the hands of this gifted pianist. He made the Steinway compact grand piano sound like a fortepiano in Haydn's Variations in Fmin H.XVII/6 but really let go at appropriate points in the magnificent Schubert Bflat Sonata D.960.
This was a gripping performance from start to finish: a great end to the "Seaton Music" season. Leon McCawley is taking the same programme around the UK, Europe and Singapore in 2022. It would be worth making an effort to get to hear it.
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The Parish Church, Ottery St Mary, Devon
Roger Swann = horn
An [almost] unique concert for your reviewer. Before the afternoon rehearsal I did not know the piece being performed, the conductor, the soloists, the choir performing it, the orchestra performing it, the venue and not even the curry house that was frequented between the rehearsal and concert.
It turned out that Handel's Solomon is a good sing (a lot of double chorus) for the choral society and that Malcolm Mathews had a reasonable orchestra in front of him.
The soloists were well matched (perhaps a special mention is deserved of counter tenor Sebastian Field singing the title role).
Oh, and the curry (pappadoms on Mill Road) was good too....
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8th April 2022 - 19:30 hrs - The Handmaid's Tale - Conductor: Joana Carneiro.
A somewhat confusing evening of flash backs (both video and live acted) and many of the main characters identically dressed. It's a consistent failure of directors in not finding ways to make individuals stand out when the plot requires the use of some form of uniform. Director: Annilese Miskimmon.
Paul Ruders' score felt equally confused and perhaps slightly clumsy. Most of the time it wandered ineffectually in a semi-tonal landscape but there were some disconcerting references to well known themes that seemed heavy handed.
In many ways the staging reflected the music. Designer: Annemarie Woods.
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7th April 2022 - 19:30 hrs - Honitor/Sidmouth/Exmouth Rock Choir
(director: Vikki Hewitt) - Exeter A Cappella - Miss Ivy Belle - Beacon Hill Primary School Choir and Orchestra
Holy Trinity Church, Exmouth, Devon
This concert was organised to raise funds for devastated Ukraine. Beacon Hill Primary School Orchestra and Choir played and sung with great enjoyment (and good to see two euphoniums in the orchestra) making a neat contrast with Miss Ivy Belle who sang various classics from the American song book (but oh how we miss live accompaniment rather than souless pre-recorded backing tracks).
Exeter A Cappella brought some musical polish to the second half which was rounded off with the energy and sunshine that the Rock Choir always bring to the stage.
It was good to see the retiring collection boxes filling up in aid of this desperate cause.
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United Reformed Church, Southernhay, Exeter
A short but very complex programme. Full marks to Andrew Daldorph and the choir for mastering all the challenges presented by their chosen composers.
A rare chance to hear James Macmillan's fascinating setting of the Miserere was followed by the conductor's own composition "My God, My God" using words drawn from psalm 22. This work seemed to start in a similar intricate and intertwined style rather similar to the Macmillan and then slowly it morphed into a more cinematic tonal extravagant sound world. An impressive composition.
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The Gateway, Seaton, Devon
Seaton Music dedicated this wind quintet concert to the memory of Hilary Juster (long term concert programme organiser for the organisation).
The quintet were really good at allowing the player with most interesting phrase to come through, resulting in a well balanced sound throughout. Especially well played in this respect by horn player Joel Roberts who kept well "out of the way" except when his notes clearly required coming to the fore.
Perhaps the most interesting compositions in the conert were the two duets (one for oboe and bassoon and one for flute and clarinet) by Villa Lobos.
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19th Mar 2022 - 19:30 hrs - Toby White ('cello) - Marina Staneva (piano)
St Andrew's Church, Colyton, Devon
The Friends of St Andrew's Church seem to have the knack of finding up and coming talent with genuine musical ability and sensitivity and tonight was no exception.
Keeping announcements to a minimum, but telling us they had now been playing together as a duo for five years, they let the music speak for itself. There seemed very little eye contact but only on rare moments was the playing anything but tight and together. Both players used a wide range of dynamics along with an equally wide range of styles of playing to really get the mood of the pieces across to the audience.
The slow movement of the Beethoven Cello Sonata no. 5 Op 102 no. 2 was a case in point. The music had loads of space. You were drawn in by Beethoven's typically amazing writing: doing so much with so little.
There were moments where perhaps the piano was a little overpowering for the 'cello but this didn't matter with pianistic musicianship of this quality. Marina Staneva still got a wide range of appropriate tone quality in the fiendish piano part of Brahms' Cello Sonata No 1 Op 38.
Still relatively young: this is a pair that could go places !
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The Royal British Legion, Blandford Forum, Dorset
Coming in at less than 24hours notice to replace "The Ciderhouse Rebellion" who had to pull out because of a Covid infection, David Mitchell charmed the audience with his fluent effortless guitar playing.
His set contained a wide variety of "folk" (in a loose sense) styles. You could almost hear the pipes in tunes drawn from the Northumbrian Pipes Book and you definitely crossed the border when he performed some Scottish melodies.
Promoted to the headline act because of the unexpected cancelation, Becoming Branches demonstrated some in tune well matched harmony singing but they needed to set up the sound system so that their lyrics were not drowned out by the somewhat unimaginative guitar playing. Their set might have benefited from a wider variety of tempo - a bit of "pumch" would have been welcome!
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5th Mar 2022 - 20:00 hrs - Exeter Camerata - Tony Hindley - Joel Munday (violin)
Teignmouth Pavillions, Teignmouth, Devon
Roger Swann = horn
The perfect programme to show the range of music that all fits into the "classical" classification. Haydn's Symphony No. 83 in G min (Hen) made a sparkling energetic opening piece.
This contrasted with Joel Munday playing Mozart's ultra-delicate polished Violin Concerto No. 4 K218, which was followed by Schubert's sublime Symphony No. 5.
Unfortunately the concert suffered from the common theatre problems of very dead accoustic and very unsympathetic lighting. Orchestral members were asked to play whilst facing dazzling spotlights. The necessary vertical downlighting was close to non-existant and the audience were forced to sit with no lighting (what if they want to consult the (excellent) programme notes or look at a score?) When will theatres learn that orchestral concerts require a different approach to a staged theatre event?
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27th Feb 2022 - 15:30 hrs - The Axe Vale Orchestra
- Arturo Serna - Vyvian Bronk (piano)
The Minster, Axminster, Devon
Roger Swann = horn
A fizzy opening: Suppe's Overture to Pique Dame! But the meat of the concert was Vyvian Bronk's performance of Chopin's E minor piano concerto (op.11). She does seem to have the right touch for Chopin, power when needed but also a warm gentle touch which is exactly what is required for most of Chopin's writing. She also has nimble fingers: there are a lot of notes in this piece!
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26th Feb 2022 - 19:30 hrs - ISCA Ensemble
- Matt Green - Alfie Pugh
Sidmouth Paris Church, Devon
Roger Swann = horn
Billed as a "Saturday night is music night" concert, the programme was packed with all the most well known tunes from that infinite body of work "British Light Music". All ably conducted by guest conductor Matt Green.
Alfie Pugh took over the baton for the long delayed (Covid) premier of his composition "The Treasure Map". Alfie conducted every bar as if he was trying to wring the last drops of musical passion from his players. His piece is densly packed with some attractive soaring melodies. Perhaps a little too thickly orchestrated at the odd time (in quiet passages particularly there is a case for "less is more" occassionally) but he's a man not frightened of using some juicy (corny?) harmonies to good effect! In short this was a piece overflowing with fun. Alfie Pugh is a musician to watch (and listen to).
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The Gateway, Seaton, Devon
The fourth concert of the "Seaton Music" season, found the young Piatti quartet on stage playing Purcell, Borodin and Beethoven. They certainly are not frightened to play pianissimo (excellent!).
Most unusually the two violinists swapped seats for the Beethoven Razumovsky (Op 59 No. 1). Violist Testsuumi Negata has a particularly dark tone. This quartet is one of four different musicians and felt a long long way from one that makes an integrated sound.
There obvious enjoyment of the music was easily communicated to their audience, but they do need to learn to give the music more space to breath....
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9th Feb 2022 - 19:15 hrs - Bajazet - Conductor: Peter Whelan
A co-production with the Irish Baroque Orchestra gave a subset of this group a chance to shine in London. Great sound (sparingly used by Vivaldi) from the two baroque horns played with bells held aloft.
Peter Whelan's obvious love and enthusiasm for the music ensured his players were lively and precise throughout, capturing the many mood changes in the music perfectly.
On stage, director Adele Thomas made no attempt to add complexity to any of the characters. Tamerlano, particularly, was played as simply an evil, lustful man, making Irene's coming back to him in the final scenes feel completely implausible.
Eric Jurenas (countertenor) seemed at ease in a very tough role and his quality was matched by all three of the ladies, Niamh O’Sullivan (Asteria), Claire Booth (Irene) and Aoife Miskelly (Idaspe).
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17th Jan 2022 - 19:30 hrs - Nabucco - Conductor: Daniel Oren
Wow! what an amazing trombone section (right from the very exposed opening). Sonorous and uniform. The picolo player deserves a mention too!
Up on stage the real stars were the two ladies : Liudmyla Monastyrska (Abigaille) and Vasilisa Berzhanskaya (Fenena).
This revival of Daniele Abbado’s 2013 production proved to be a grey drab affair. Having all Babylonians and Hebrews indistinguishably (and flatly) dressed proved to be an unhelpful and pointless feature.
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18th Dec 2021 - 19:30 hrs - ISCA Ensemble
- Roger Hendy - Lucasz Krupinski (piano)
Sidmouth Paris Church, Devon
Roger Swann = horn
The audience braved both the oncoming Omicron Covid threat and the fact that the church heating system had failed to hear Lucasz Krupinski perform his fellow polish composer Chopin's F minor (Op 21) Piano concerto. He has had this piece in his repertoire since he was sixteen and was keen to present it almmost as if it were a Chopin solo piano work that happens to have a little more colour.
Battling with the cold temperatures meant the orchestra's intonation was not always as certain as normal but this didn't stop Mozart's great 40th Symphony K550 from sounding exciting and unsettling in it's G minor home key.
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Connaught Gardens, Sidmouth, Devon
Singing as part of the enchanting Connaught Gardens Christmas Illuminations Vikki Hewitt's technical experience ensured that the gently amplified sound was well balanced with all words clearly audible. The crowd enjoyed the music all though some younger members were understandably distracted when Santa Claus wandered by.....
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The Gateway, Seaton, Devon
Presented by "Seaton Music", this concert consisted of the final three piano sonatas by Beethoven (Nos.30 to 32, Op 109 to Op 111). On paper this might feel a bit of "heavy" programme; in practice, in the hands of Christian Sandrin the audience (and your reviewer) were held in rapt attention from the very first note.
Christian Sandrin used great power (aggession?) at appropriate moments but equally played with delicacy and sensitivity when needed. These three works are technically incredibly demanding and if the odd error slipped through it was only because of the performer's focus on wringing every bit of expression out of the notes.
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3rd Dec 2021 - 19:30 hrs - English Romantic Works - Lionel Handy ('cello) - Jennifer Hughes (piano)
St Peter and St Paul's Church, Uplyme, Devon
Demonstrating his passion for English 20th century music Lionel Handy chose to perform works by Ethel Smythe, Delius, Armstrong Gibbs and Britten. All played with complete commitment (backed up by solid technique) he certainly "sells" the music to the audience.
Jennifer Hughes coped with a huge number of notes (both the Gibbs and the Britten, particularly, having treacherous piano parts) and seemed to be able to allow them plenty of space and freedom. The two musicians make a good partnership.
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1st Dec 2021 - 19:30 hrs - Honitor/Sidmouth/Exmouth Rock Choir
- Vikki Hewitt - Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service Concert Band - Martin Andrew and Michael Owen
Holy Trinity Church, Exmouth, Devon
Vikki Hewitt's carefully chosen repertoire provided a wide variety of entertaining songs for the choir's first concert following the long covid enforced break. The funky "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" (originally by Whitney Houston) was especially lively and at the other extreme their very clever arrangement of The First Nowell interwoven with Silent Night was gentle and calming. All songs were sung with good intonation and Vikki Hewitt was always careful to keep the sound system accompaniament in perfect balance. As always what comes across is how much the choir enjoy the performance.
Sharing the bill with the Rock Choir were the DSFRS Concert Band. Representing a wide range of ages and abilities they provided a firm foundation for a bit of audience participation in the good old traditional Christmas Carols.
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24th Nov 2021 - 19:30 hrs - Macbeth
Phillidia Llyod's production of Verdi's first opera based on Shakespeare's work is full of squares and boxes (even down to the bedspread) with many of the main events taking place inside a large golden cube cage. Is she trying to say that Macbeth (Simon Keenlyside) is boxed in by those around him, in particular Lady Macbeth (powerfully sung by Anna Pirrozi)? Or perhaps that he gets himself boxed in by his actions? Verdi's score seems to simply show that they are both unlikeable characters with Lady Macbeth encouraging evil actions whenever there is a sign of hesitation from her husband and with them both getting there comeuppance in the end.
Conductor Daniele Rustioni created plenty of variety of sound from the band but they were not always as tight as this magnificent orchestra can be.
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Axminster Guildhall, Axminster, Devon
A very colourful and moving production put together by director Kelly Apps and MD Joseph Binmore. Arguably one of Lloyd Webber's greatest shows it has the benefit of witty freely flowing lyrics by Tim Rice.
Some very strong singing and acting particularly from Silvey Webber on stage for virtually the whole show as Eva Peron and from Dan Wilde playing Agustin Magaldi (and several other minor roles).
Lauren Glover as "the mistress" has only one song, but it's a great one! and she captured the vulnerable fragile character of "the mistress" perfectly. Paul Matterface as Che (basically a narrator) did a reasonable job fighting the volume of the orchestra in getting the story line across.
The evening would have been close to perfect had the sound engineers chosen to reduce the overall volume by 10% for most of the show and the bass guitar down by 40% for ALL of the show (bass guitar is such a monotonous sound when swamping everything else continuously). This would allow all of the key lyrics during Eva Peron's passionate speaches to come across (they were mostly lost) as well as equally important lyrics from the chorus who were singing their hearts out but which were all lost. Sung through throughout (ie more of an opera than a musical) it is vital that the audience hear the lyrics. The AMT had a great cast and with a little more care with the sound management it could have been a spectacular evening. Music doesn't need to be loud to have power; rather it needs to use dynamic range and variety of tonal colour to draw the audience in.
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19th Nov 2021 - 17:00 hrs - Die Walkure (The Valkyrie)
Director Richard Jones chose a not over fussy approach to Wagner’s second opera in the Ring Cycle. Emma Bell filled the house with her powerful singing of Sieglinde and with striking acting to match, she stole the show.
The glorious orchestral score was played with precision by the ENO orchestra (great horns and wagner tubas and some beautiful bass trumpet (Becky Smith)) but it did at times just feel a little lacking in drive and passion (conductor Martyn Brabbins)
As ever at ENO one wonders about the benefits of singing Wagner's works in English.....
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18th Nov 2021 - 19:30 hrs - Braimah (violin), Jeneba (piano) and Sheku (cello) Kanneh-Mason
The Gateway, Seaton, Devon
Presented by "Seaton Music" this concert was a chance to hear three of the seven siblings from this talented Nottingham family.
Sheku impressed with his commitment and fluency and also his sensitivity, always being careful to get out of the way when not the leading part. It is easy to hear the talent that brought him the BBC Young Musician of the Year award in 2016.
Choosing an all Mendelssohn programme guaranteed a huge number of notes for pianist Jeneba. She was not in the least daunted by this and certainly had an attractive lightness of touch in the many fast moving passages.
Violinist Braimah worked really well with his brother in the Piano Trio No.1 Op 49. The rapport between the two resulted in a very tight performance.
But why they chose to only play for one hour and had no encore to offer the enthusiastic audience is a complete mystery. Many of the audience had travelled significant distances to hear the Kanneh-Mason and they were entitled to feel short changed by this "lunch time concert" length.
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6th Nov 2021 - 19:30 hrs - ISCA Ensemble
- Roger Hendy - Luka Okros (piano)
Exeter Cathedral, Devon
Roger Swann = horn
Roger Hendy chose the magnificent Exter Cathedral to present an exciting preformance of Mahler's first symphony to a large and enthusiastic audience (in a somewhat cold environment!). It was great to have the chance to play this piece backed up by a fine set of horn players, who had, in some cases, travelled from some distance.
The Mahler was easily the biggest piece in the programme but definitely not the only highlight. The concert started with Takashi Yoshimastsu's "And birds are still..." (Op 72) and enchanting delicate work for strings.
Luka Okros had a similar delicacy in his piano touch (playing Beethoven's 1st Piano Concerto) always a sign that distinguishes a pianist from the "ordinary". Boy! did he take the last movement at a lick!
Mahler 1 Horn Section: Left to right, back row: Laura Page, Susanna Stephenson, Tracey Alder, Hilary Gunn
Left to right, front row: Simon Keates, Roger Swann (principal), Mike Oganovsky, Peter Milmer
( Photograph: Passing helpful front of house staff member )
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29th Oct 2021 - 19:00 hrs - HMS Pinafore - Conductor:- Chris Hopkins.
A strange experience watching a G&S production where you don't know a good number of the cast and the orchestra. This was your reviewer's first ever professional G&S production. It deal feel somewhat lacking in intimacy in the cavernous environs of the Coliseum.
Director Cal McCrystal seemed to play the whole piece for laughs (and indeed there was much laughing from the audience, throughout) but this did mean that the poignant side of the characters was never really allowed to develop. Whilst funny, the show did feel a little flat.
Young Rufus Bateman played the cabin role excellently - almost stole the show!
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The Gateway, Seaton, Devon
As their first concert of their 70th Season "Seaton Music" presented the Wiener Mozart Trio who are celebrating 30 years since they were founded. Since violinist Daniel Auner is only 34 years of age it seems likely that personel has changed over this time.
In spite of their name the group seemed slightly uncomfortable in their performances of two Mozart trios (K496 and K502) with occasional disagreements over tempo and intonation. Only pianist Irina Auno sounded relaxed.
But they really enjoyed the passion and variety of tone colour in Schumann's Op 63 Trio. Power and energy contrasted with moments of calm most persuasively.
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The Minster, Axminster, Devon
Roger Swann = horn
This concert was dedicated to the memory of Colin Rowland, a founder member of the orchestra and was a short varied programme of some of his favourite pieces, played to a good sized and enthusiastic audience.
It's great that the AVO include such rarities as Ernest Tomlinson's First Suite of English Folk Dances (starting with a delightfully played violin solo taken by leader Jane Bultz).
Axe Vale Orchestra Horn Section: Left to right: Rosanne Jardine, Roger Swann, Mike Oganovsky, Peter Milmer (principal)
( Photograph: Chris Gradwell)
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9th Oct 2021 - 19:30 hrs - Exeter Camerata - Tony Hindley - Joel Munday (violin)
United Reformed Church, Southernhay, Exeter
Roger Swann = horn
Your reviewer's first chance to play with this prestigious Exter chamber orchestra was a joy. Tony Hindley's well planned rehearsal technique encouraging well thought out note lengths and never missing a chance to get his players to listen to each other more resulted in a tight fresh sounding orchestra who enjoyed the traditional programme of Mozart and Haydn.
Joel Munday played Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 4 K218 with his usual accuracy and youthful ebullience. It's always good to work with him.
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7th Oct 2021 - 19:30 hrs - Jenufa
Just great to be back at the Royal Opera House after the long Covid enforced break! In at the deep end with Janacek's complex (both musically and plot wise) "Jenufa". A tragic tale that tries to have a happy ending, it certainly has some great music (with the orchestra, perhaps a little too loud at times, sounding as glorious as ever [conductor: Henrik Nanasi]) and a huge title role sung with character by Asmiti Grigorian.
The ROH has decided to stop printing cast sheets. These have been replaced by a QR scan code (not helpful for those, such as your reviewer, without a smartphone) together with a display of the information on a screen in the foyer.
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30th Sep 2021 - 12:30 hrs - Music at the Minster - Lunchtime Concert - Woodbury Winds - Jeremy White
The Minster, Axminster, Devon
Roger Swann = horn
Jeremy White took the stick to direct for this concert containing a single work: Dvorak's Wind Serenade. A good sized audience (in spite of the usual post concert free lunch being unavailable due to Covid restrictions) enjoyed the performance which was greatly helped by strong rhythmic playing from Chris Gradwell (clarinet) and Caroline Page (oboe).
Sadly this event marked the end of the administrative and musical direction of Woodbury Winds by Jane Godbeer who has been the shining light behind the ensemble's activities for over forty years. She deserved the large beauquet of flowers and stirring round of applause at the end of the concert ten times over !
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26th Sept 2021 - 19:00 hrs - Knighton Chamber Orchestra - Concert in memory of Michael Sackin - Paul Jenkins - Simon Chalk (violin) - Eleanor Wilkinson (violin)
Church of St James the Greater, Leicester
For the first post Covid concert by Knighton Chamber Orchestra, Paul Jenkins chose to present an all Bach concert. In order to accommodate the audience safely the orchestra played the same programme in two “sittings”, the earlier concert being at 16:00 hrs.
This must have presented a stamina challenge to the three trumpets in Bach’s Fourth Orchestral Suite, but they didn’t show it, sounding bright and resonant in the church and having good intonation throughout. They made a well matched team: Dan Chinery, Rachel Rayner and Gillian Butcher
Eleanor Wilkinson was one of many soloists that returned several times to play different concertos with Michael Sackin’s orchestra, The University of Leicester Sinfonia. Playing with Simon Chalk in Bach’s double concerto her smooth persuasive soft tone sat rather attractively above Simon Chalk’s darker more projected sound.
Between the pieces Paul Jenkins reminded the audience of some of Michael Sackin’s contributions to the community of the City of Leicester.
Michael Sackin was the first Leicester orchestra to invite your reviewer to take the first horn chair. This was around forty years ago and it turned out to be the start of four decades of enjoyabable music making with “The Maestro” at the helm. At the start the orchestra was named “Leicester University Baroque Ensemble”, although it actually played much more Haydn and Mozart than music from the baroque period. We had lots of fun presenting concerts in many venues in Leicester and Leicestershire, some of which were not always of the highest technical standard. Our loyal audience seemed to support us no matter what. There was one winter concert where there was sheet ice on the roads outside and the internal church temperature made you wonder if it would form on the pews too (and the audience!)
You could learn much from Michael’s encyclopedic musical knowledge. At one “after show” party following a performance of Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony Michael pointed out that it was very rare to have a piece that starts in A Major and ends in A minor. He then paused for only a brief moment before declaring that in fact he knew of no other orchestral piece that does this and only one chamber music work with this attribute. (sadly your reviewer is unable to recall what the named piece actually was).
During his orchestra’s rehearsals Michael did suffer from the problem of slowing down the tempo whenever he thought of something. There are many conductors for whom this would rarely be an inconvenience but Michael was a gent who was ALWAYS thinking of something. There were one or two local musicians who struggled with Michael’s slight technical deficiencies but there were many many more who loved his infectious enthusiasm (for life, not just music), his broad musical tastes (including a healthy interest in contemporary compositions, especially those by composers based in Leicestershire) his kindness and his lively witty sense of humour. Your reviewer is definitely in the latter camp. Leicestershire (and the world) is not quite same place following his death back in August 2019
Whilst grappling with the intractable problem of balancing an amateur orchestra his most used phrase was: “if you can’t hear the first violins then your neighbour is too loud”.
Maestro Michael Sackin (1942 - 2019)
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