The 87 musicians which make up Chetham's Symphony Orchestra [augmented slightly this evening with a few younger students, normally playing with the Sinfonia] struggled to find space enough for them on the stage of The Stoller Hall. It was just big enough - with a bit of a squash! Even more so by the fact that the first piece to be played was a piano concerto and so a piano had been positioned front centre too. They really could have done with an extra couple of feet of stage space.
We had gathered to listen to the orchestra play two pieces. First was Ravel's piano concert in G major. The slow, melodic and beautiful second movement is often played as a stand-alone piece and I knew it instantly. However, I don't think I have ever heard the entire concerto. The fast, jaunty first movement owing more to George Gerschwin than Ravel (at least if I hadn't have known the composer, that is who I would have guessed!) and the equally jolly but slightly less fantastic final movement, making the whole a sandwich of melancholy and reflectiveness between spiced pumpernickel!
Playing the solo this evening was 16 year old Rose McLachlan, and my goodness what a talented young lady she is. I closed my eyes half-way through and listened hard and intently - not just at her playing but at the orchestra as a whole - and if I hadn't have known then I would have been unable to distinguish this from an adult professional orchestra and soloist. McLaughlin showing a technique and skill beyond her tender years, as well as a deep understanding of the music and its composer, bringing about a lovely balance between the ability to hit the right note at the right time and emotive passion behind the playing.
To finish, the orchestra, under guest conductor Michael Seal, played one of Stravinsky's ballet scores which he originally wrote for The Ballet Russes in Paris. This suite, comprising five movements, comes from his final Diaghilev score, written in 1910, The Firebird.
One day I hope to be able to see ballet dancers dancing to this music, that's a pleasure I have yet to witness; and one I look forward to immensely since I would personally find it extremely hard to dance ballet to this music. It is dissonant, passionate, but above all the rhythms and melodies are not easily distinguishable, as time signatures and key changes abound. The orchestra though coped with this with aplomb and watching Michael Seal conduct them with such skill - his precision at bringing in the correct section and controlling their volume and balance whilst conducting was superb, and watching the way the orchestra responded to this was wonderful.
The whole concert lasted only about 50 minutes, but it was a most magical and thrilling musical experience, and I couldn't wait for the evening's second concert. [see separate review].
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 17/10/18
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