This will be the fourth time I have had both the privilege and the pleasure of witnessing the National Youth Orchestra in action. A very large group - this time 160 musicians - come together to form one of the largest orchestras I have ever seen on the stage of the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. Aged between 14 and 18, these talented individuals make a combined sound that is both sonorous and melodic. Their talents are evident even before they take the stage however, as three groups were tasked into giving short pre-concert foyer recitals. This was a superb idea, but sadly did not work as well as it really ought to have done. The three different groups were positioned in different locations on the three levels of the foyer, and sadly, all played at the same time and so one tune mixed with the others and we heard nothing ut a discordant mess when not actually stood close to one of the groups.
However, that must not put you off, since once they started to play as a full orchestra on stage the sound was incredible, and, given their number, they were able to play quietly with finesse, in fact, the dynamic control of the orchestra throughout was superb.
The programme was called, Collide, and this is because the three works chosen for the concert all featured as their protagonists a young couple, who are thrown together through extraordinary circumstances and their adventures and relationships develop because of this, and their destinies collide! Sophie and Howl in the first piece, Tristan and Isolde in the second, and of course Romeo and Juliet in the final piece.
The opening was unexpected and brilliant! The seven members of the percussion section started the concert with the cinematic fanfare and as they seemingly improvised and extemporised with marches and jazz, the full orchestra paraded on and the final fanfare was given by the whole orchestra. Clever and visually stunning too.
We then welcomed the conductor Alpesh Chauhan to the podium, and his obvious dedication and love of the music inspired the youths and his conducting was clear, and helpful at all times.
The first piece was new to me, and was film music taken from an animated feature film called, 'Howl's Moving Castle' by Joe Hisaishi. Considering that he is a Japanese composer, then the music was extremely western in both feel and influence, a melange of several European styles combined to create a programmatic piece of cinema music. Feel-good and uplifting.
This was followed by Wagner, and his Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan And Isolde. Wagener's music is very repetitive and dare I say boring at the best of times (subjective i know, sorry!) and so it needs infusing with something to keep it flowing and alive. Here Chauhan made full use of the music's dynamics and swells, making it a much more personal and passionate piece.
After the interval and it was the turn of Russian composer Tchaikovsky, whose compositions like Wagner's, are very much wearing their respective hearts on their sleeves,; but unlike Wagner, whose music is introvert and dense, Tchaikovsky is light and open. His ballet for Romeo and Juliet also contains some of his more easily recognisable pieces, as well as some of his more heart-felt declarations of emotion. It is a roller-coaster ride of emotion in fact, and once again, Chauhan kept the orchestra in check and they played with both passion and skill.
Having only just this morning watched West Side Story, and listened to Bernstein's evocative score, I can hear distinct parallels between both Bernstein's and Tchaikovsky's scoring of the same story. Perhaps Bernstein took inspiration from Tchaikovsky? Who can say...!
The orchestra was superb, and sounded as good as any professional orchestra, and yet these are only students at the very first stages of their professional journey. I was in awe and the concert was an absolute first class hit! Such a shame that it wasn't sold out, it should have been!
Reviewer - Alastair Zyggu
on - 9.4.26
No comments:
Post a Comment