CBSO BENEVOLENT FUND CONCERT Symphony Hall ***** After many months away from the orchestra it was good to catch up with a CBSO in wonderful form, and on such a joyous occasion, a warm and packed audience joining in the annual celebration of the CBSO Benevolent Fund, and all it does to assist distressed musicians and staff. The players clearly adore performing under principal conductor Kazuki Yamada, indulging his all kinds of quirks from the podium, and following him down some surprise byways – of which there were many in the Tchaikovsky symphony which concluded this all-Russian programme. We began busily, with Shostakovich’s Festival Overture, no need for the composer to look over his shoulder for the KGB here, bubbling with woodwind (this was to be very much their afternoon), string detail scudding out of Yamada’s wide, sweeping, empowering beat. Then came a very different mood with the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, introversion desperately trying to liberate itself. Jam...
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Showing posts from February, 2025
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A LONG DELAYED PREMIERE FOR THE CBSO CBSO at Symphony Hall ★★★★ When an orchestra announces the UK Premiere of a work then it’s normally of something new, novel, up-to-the minute. Akio Yashiro’s ‘Symphony for Large Orchestra’ was commissioned in 1958 so why perform it now? It would no doubt gain a little cultural credit for the CBSO’s forthcoming tour of Japan later this year while also being a personal indulgence for Kazuki Yamada. So what if it was? All the CBSO’s music directors have been allowed to ride their musical hobby horses: Simon Rattle conducted Nicholas Maw’s gigantic ‘Odyssey’, Sakari Oramo showcased the forgotten British composer John Foulds and Mirga proselytized for Weinberg. Yamada introduced his late countryman’s work to the British concert hall and a much wider audience via a Radio 3 live relay. Good for him. But perhaps that 67 year wait signified that the symphony isn’t very good? Having heard many CBSO premieres over the decades – some instantly forgettable...
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THE JOHN WILSON PIANO SPECTACULAR V Royal Northern College of Music **** Having managed to assemble eight grand pianos onto one stage I suppose it is inevitable that one would want to wring as much out of the behemoth as possible. This was certainly the case with John Wilson’s joyous 85th birthday event attracting an overflowing and enthusiastic audience of ex-students and well-wishers to the RNCM Concert Hall. Wilson inaugurated these five-yearly events in 2005, raising funds for the John Wilson Junior Fellowship in Accompaniment at the College where he has been such a respected presence as student and subsequently teacher; his association with the establishment now goes back 60 years. Eight colleagues and past students each man one of the instruments, generously donating their services to the cause, as does Timothy Reynish, directing from the podium. This year’s complement comprised Harvey Davies, Peter Donohoe, Julian Evans, Peter Lawson, Nicholas Rimmer, Martin Roscoe, ...