BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican

On the evening of Wednesday 26th March 2014 I attended the BBC Symphony Orchestra concert at the Barbican in the City of London. This performance featured Conductor Sakari Oramo and Violinist Leila Josefowicz. The programme consisted of Pohjola's Daughter - Sibelius, Violin Concerto - Esa-Pekka Salonen and Symphony No. 5 - Shostakovich.

Esa-Pekka Salonen’s 2009 award-winning Violin Concerto ‘Out of Nowhere’ is a portrait of the phenomenal soloist Leila Josefowicz, who gave this UK premiere. Praised at its LA Philharmonic premiere for its ‘pure, euphoric poetry’, it’s a work which lends itself to Josefowicz’s visceral intensity. This was a fantastic performance from Leila Josefowicz.

In its pulsing central movements, we may find echoes of Sibelius’s driving repetitions in his dark re-telling of Pojhola’s Daughter, in which the daughter of the north, astride a rainbow, mocks the love-lorn Väinämöinen. This concert ended with one of Shostakovich’s most popular symphonies, No 5: its heroic classicism may have affected the composer’s political rehabilitation, but its essential defiance came blazing through. I had another amazing night at the Barbican full of amazing Classical Music.

The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra at the BBC Proms

On the evening of Friday 23rd August 2013 I attended Prom 55 of the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London featuring the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Antoni Wit and pianist Alexander Melnikov. This was the Proms debut of the Warsaw Philharmonic under Antoni Wit in his final concert as the orchestra's Artistic Director.

The programme consisted of Concerto for Orchestra - Lutoslawski, Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major - Shostakovich, Tragic Overture - Panufnik, Lullaby - Panufnik and Symphony No. 6 in B minor - Shostakovich. These are landmark pieces by two of Poland's 20th-century greats along with a pair of works by Shostakovich.

Lutoslawski began the Concerto for Orchestra in 1950 as a request from the conductor Witold Rowicki for a new work for the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. The piece combines Polish folk styles with more modern compositional procedures. Rowicki directed the premiere in Warsaw on 26th November 1954.

Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2 was composed in 1956-7 for his teenage son Maxim who premiered the work in Moscow on 10th May 1957. This was immediately before Shostakovich began work on his 11th Symphony and can be seen as a light hearted relaxation before that massive undertaking.

Tragic Overture was composed by Panufnik in 1942 and was a brutal, overtly violent piece which was a non-verbal protest against the occupying forces. Panufnik composed Lullaby in London in 1947 and is a rare combination of beauty and innovation.

Shostakovich's Symphony No. 6 was composed in 1939 and first performed in Leningrad on 21st November 1939 by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under Yevgeny Mravinsky. Shostakovich said that the musical character of the Sixth Symphony was different from the mood and emotional tone of the Fifth Symphony, in which moments of tragedy and tension were characteristic. In the Sixth Symphony he wanted to convey the moods of spring, joy and youth.

This was a wonderful evening at the Royal Albert Hall as the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Antoni Wit gave us a brilliant performance of some very emotional pieces of music from Eastern Europe. There were some very dark sounds which set the mood for the performance. This was the perfect way for Antoni Wit to finish his twelve years as the Orchestra's Artistic Director.

The Bartholdy Quartet at The Assembly House

On the afternoon of Sunday 19th May 2013 I attended the Royal Academy of Music concert at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival featuring The Bartholdy Quartet and Kei Takumi at The Assembly House, Norwich. This annual visit from the Royal Academy of Music is a vital and much loved feature of the Festival.

The programme consisted of String Quartet No.25 in C Op.20 No.2 - Haydn and Piano Quintet in G minor Op.57 - Shostakovich. The Bartholdy Quartet are Tessa Ho - violin, Marisol Lee - violin, Ricardo Gasper - viola and Raphael Lang - cello. Pianist Kei Takumi studied with Vera Gornostaeva and Hironao Suzuki at the Yamaha Music School.

Joseph Haydn composed the six string quartets from Op.20 in 1772 and are among the great works that earned him the nickname 'the father of the string quartet'. At the time of these compositions Haydn's musical ideas were influenced by the ongoing shift in European philosophical and political thought.

Piano Quintet in G minor, Op.57 was composed by Dimitri Shostakovich in 1940. It was written for the Beethoven Quartet and was premiered by them with Shostakovich himself at the piano on 23rd November 1940 at the Moscow Conservatory, to great success. In 1941, it was awarded the Stalin Prize.

This was a wonderful afternoon performance from The Bartholdy Quartet who after playing Haydn's String Quartet were joined by pianist Kei Takumi for the Shostakovich Piano Quintet. This is the part of the Festival where we get to hear the classical music stars of tomorrow and based on the music played at this concert, The Bartholdy Quartet and Kei Takumi have a bright future ahead of them.

The Aurora Orchestra declares war!

On the evening of Saturday 18th May 2013 I was back at St. Andrew's Hall, Norwich to see the Aurora Orchestra at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival performing their Battle programme which combined break dancing and orchestral music. The Aurora Orchestra were conducted by Rory MacDonald with Thomas Gould - Leader and Max Baillie - Viola. The Dancers were from Bboy's Attic and Company Decalage.

The programme consisted of Battalia A 10 - Biber, Chamber Symphony Op.73A - Shostakovich arr. Barshai, Venus from The Planets - Holst arr. Farrington, Maxamorphosis - Julian Phillips and This Means War - Chris Willis. The Bboy's Attic and Choreographer Mickael 'Marso' Riviere joined the Aurora Orchestra for this adventurous cross-art project as part of the Orchestra's New Moves series.

Battle featured a playlist linked loosely by the theme of conflict or struggle. There is the baroque fireworks of Biber's Battalia, Shostakovich's third string quartet whose original guise as a straightforward 'war narrative' in fact masked more complex beginnings and Chris Willis' radical re-imagining of Holst's Mars, the Bringer of War. At the heart of the programme was Maxamorphosis, a major new work composed by Julian Philips and choreographed by Marso for chamber orchestra, dancers and solo viola.

This was an amazing night at St. Andrew's Hall with the Aurora Orchestra giving us a brilliant unique programme of break dancing and orchestral music which was greatly enjoyed by the enthusiastic audience. Maxamorposis not only featured breakdancers and a contemporary dancer, but the soloist, Baillie, danced as well as played the viola. He is trained in Capoeira, the Brazilian martial arts danceform. The Norfolk and Norwich reached another level of excitement with the stage being filled with break dancers as well as the orchestra.

Triorca Orchestra at St. Andrew's Hall

On the evening of Wednesday 10th April 2013 I attended the Triorca International Youth Orchestra's concert at St. Andrew's Hall, Norwich. The orchestra is made up of young musicians from Norfolk, Rheinland-Pfalz and Novi Sad. This was their first UK appearance conducted by their Artistic Director, Nicholas Daniel.

The programme consisted of Wavefront Silhouette - Xiaotian Shi, Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra - Britten and Symphony No.5 - Shostakovich. Triorca's Patron, Louis de Bernieres was narrator for Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra which was performed as a tribute to the composer in his centenary year.

Wavefront Silhouette is a new work commissioned for the orchestra from Aldeburgh young musician, Xiaotian Shi. This piece was inspired by the sea and creates the sense of a journey going through the different emotions. Music has always been a common language and the sea links so many different countries, peoples and cultures together.

Benjamin Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra was written in 1946 as the soundtrack to a film entitled The Instruments of the Orchestra featuring the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent. The theme is taken from Henry Purcell's incidental music to Abdelazar, composed in 1695 for a revival of Aphra Behn's play originally written in 1676.

Shostakovich composed his Fifth Symphony in 1937 and was first performed in December of that year. The premiere was a huge success, and received an ovation that lasted well over half an hour. The composer had to be tactful in his approach by appearing to yield to pressure from the State while still retaining his artistic integrity.

This was a wonderful evening at Norwich's St. Andrew's Hall with the Triorca Orchestra providing us with a splendid programme of music played brilliantly with lots of enthusiasm. It was great to see this orchestra perform and they provide an inspiration to lots of people.

The Allegri Quartet perform Beethoven and Shostakovich

On Tuesday 29th January 2013 I attended the Allegri Quartet's concert of Beethoven’s String Quartet Op.95, Shostakovich’s String Quartet No 11 and Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 131 in the Strode Concert Room at the UEA School of Music. This was a wonderful opportunity to experience this excellent Quartet live performing the music of two of my favourite composers.

Founded in 1953 by Eli Goren, William Pleeth, Patrick Ireland and James Barton, the Allegri Quartet is Britain's longest-running chamber music ensemble, sustained over six decades by successive generations of the finest international performers. The current members of Ofer Falk, Rafael Todes, Dorothea Vogel and Vanessa Lucas-Smith are committed to maintaining the group’s exceptional reputation and dedicate a great deal of time to teaching young performers and composers through various residency schemes which are supported by the Radcliffe Trust. They are the UEA's professional Ensemble in Residence.

Beethoven's F minor String Quartet dates from 1810 and is his last before his exalted late string quartets. It is commonly referred to as the Serioso, stemming from his title Quartetto Serioso at the beginning and the tempo designation for the third movement. It is one of the shortest and most compact of all the Beethoven quartets. This is music full of restless urgency which ends with a racing allegro full of lightness and delicacy.

Shostakovich’s String Quartet No 11 was written in 1966 and was dedicated to the memory of Vasily Petrovich Shirinsky, the second violinist of the Beethoven Quartet who had died the year before. In the latter half of Shostakovich's career his music grew more private and introspective for which the string quartet offered an ideal medium.

Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 131 was completed in July 1826 as part of a group of five string quartets which he wrote in the last years of his life. This work, which is dedicated to Baron Joseph von Stutterheim, was Beethoven's favourite from the late quartets. He is quoted as remarking to a friend that he would find a new manner of part-writing and, thank God, less lack of imagination than before. The piece is in seven movements played without without a break.

The Allegri Quartet put on a wonderful performance at the UEA School of Music which thrilled a packed Strode Concert Room. I particularly enjoyed Shostakovich’s String Quartet No 11 which is an astonishing piece of music. It has been created by someone who has seen and suffered much and is concerned only with essentials.

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic at the BBC Proms

On the evening of Thursday 23rd August 2012 I returned to the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms to see the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko in Prom 54. There had to be a Shostakovich Symphony and with violist Tasmin Little playing Delius's Violin Concerto this was always going to be a brilliant BBC Prom.

The programme consisted of Symphony No.9 - Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Violin Concerto -Delius and Symphony No.10 in E minor - Shostakovich. Thelma Hardy was Leader of the Orchestra at this wonderful concert.

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies's Ninth Symphony is dedicated to HM The Queen on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee. The piece is one continuous movement divided into two parts. Full of fanfare flourishes to mark this special year, this was a great opening from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

This year is the 150th anniversity of the birth of Delius and with Tasmin Little being one of his most ardent champions it seemed appropriate that she should play his Violin Concerto's first appearance at the BBC Proms for over 40 years. Tasmin Little played brilliantly to light up the Royal Albert Hall.

Shostakovich's Symphony No.10 was his first symphony to emerge after Stalin's death and with it's mix of furry and sorrow this piece shows his complex relationship with his homeland. This is one of Shostakovich's most highly rated symphonies and Vasily Petrenko with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra made sure we experienced it at it's best with a wonderful performance.

Shostakovich Leningrad Symphony at the BBC Proms

On the evening of Tuesday 21st August 2012 I attended Prom 51 of the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall which featured the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andis Nelsons with Laurence Jackson as Leader of the Orchestra. It was brilliant to be back in London at the BBC Proms for another concert of wonderful music.

The programme consisted of Rusian and Lyudmila Overture - Glinka, Calculus of the Nervous System - Emily Howard and Symphony No.7 in C major Leningrad - Shostakovich. This was a varied programme with delights for everyone as young Latvian conductor Andis Nelsons and the CBSO gave us a night to remember.

Glinka's rousing overture to his Pushkin-derived opera raised the curtain, paying tribute to a composer revered as the founding father of Russian nationalism. This was the UK Premiere of Emily Howard's Calculus of the Nervous System, a piece that is inspired by the work of Ada Lovelace, daughter of the poet Byron and a prophet of the computer age.

Dmitry Shostakovich composed the Leningrad Symphony mostly in the city itself as it came under siege from Germany in 1941. This piece's wider aim was a protest against brutal regimes worldwide. This was the highlight of the evening for me as Andis Nelsons lead the Orchestra in a rousing and emotional performance of this epic symphony. This was an amazing 75 minutes at the Royal Albert Hall as we were treated to this extraordinary Shostakovich Symphony which at times sounds like a film score.

Allegri Quartet Delights!

On Tuesday 31st January 2012 I attended the Allegri Quartet concert at the UEA School of Music in Norwich. They are the UEA Ensemble in Residence and are one of the oldest chamber music ensembles in existence, going back to its foundation in 1953. With a line-up of Ofer Falk - Violin, Rafael Todes - Violin, Dorothea Vogel - Viola and Vanessa Lucas-Smith we were all in for a musical treat.

The programme consisted of String Quartet in A, Op 18, No.5 - Beethoven, String Quartet No.7, Op 108 - Shostakovich and String Quartet in A minor, Op 132 - Beethoven.

Beethoven's String Quartet No 5 is the one most directly indebted to Mozart. This piece is an example of the composer relaxing with the music having an easy going energy. Dmitri Shostakovich dedicated his Seventh Quartet to the memory of his first wife, Nina and was completed in 1960. Beethoven's Op 132 was produced in response to a commission from Prince Galitsin received in 1822.

It was a wonderful night at the UEA School of Music with a performance from the Allegri Quartet of the highest quality. With lots of power and energy they brought us the true beauty of these pieces from Beethoven and Shostakovich.

Russian Prom at The Royal Albert Hall

On Wednesday 17th August 2011 I attended BBC Prom 44 at The Royal Albert Hall with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen - conductor, Zsolt-Tihamer Visontay - leader and Lisa Batiashvili - violin.

The programme for the evening consisted of The Age of Gold suite, Violin Concerto No.1 in A minor - Shostakovich, Petrushka (1947 version) - Stravinsky and Francesca de Rimini - Tchaikovsky.

The Age of Gold is music portraying a Soviet football team while Shostakovich's Violin Concerto is a very symphonic concerto. Lisa Batiashvili recorded this with Esa-Pekka Salonen on her album Echoes of Time which is a recording I highly recommend. It was brilliant to witness her play this live at this her Proms debut. A very powerful performance that charmed the audience at The Royal Albert Hall.

After the interval the Philharmonia Orchestra gave a stunning performance of Stravinsky's Petrushka which is a ballet based on St. Petersburg's Shrovetide fair. This outstanding evening of music finished with Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini - symphonic fantasia after Dante. This was a rousing end to the concert as the powerful sounds of Tchaikovsky's symphonic poem filled the Hall like a hurricane.  

Navarra Quartet delight Festival crowd

Navarra Quartet put on a brilliant performance
at St. Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich

It was another brilliant concert at the Norfolk & Norwich Festival as the Navarra Quartet delighted us at St. Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich. With a programme of String Quartet in G minor Op. 20 no.3 - Haydn and String Quartet in B flat no. 5 Op. 92 - Shostakovich.

After the interval they were due to play Brahms string quartet in A minor Op. 51 no. 2 but due to illness they had not had enough time to practise the piece therefore they replaced this with Ravel's string quartet.

There was a wonderful atmosphere in the venue as the sound of Haydn's string quartet floated across the air at St. Peter Mancroft with it's excellent acoustics. The performance of Shostakovich was world class and breathtaking.

After the interval Ravel's string quartet with it's strict four movement classical structure was a typically lively way to finish the concert on a high.  We all applauded loudly in great appreciation of a marvellous evening from Magnus Johnston, Marije Ploemacher, Simone van der Giessen and Nathaniel Boyd at this historic Norwich venue.