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Short
Stories
Norwich St
Andrew's Hall 13 February
Cambridge
West Road Concert Hall 14 February
Eastern
Daily Press
Michael Drake 14 February
2008
After the exhilarating lunchtime
date last week, the full Sinfonia continued their current season in last
night's EDP-sponsored concert with a programme of pairs framed by two
of Bach's Brandenburg concertos.
No 3 in G opened in lively fashion. The pattern was completed by No 5
in D and a well-crafted violin and flute duo, subtle harpsichord and the
latter's tour de force Cadenza to end the first movement.
Honneger's rarely heard Concerto da camera for flute and cor anglais presented
a blend of dissonance, harmony and impressionism, with the orchestra sometimes
echoing, and at other times filling, a rural background after the first
of two Vivaldi concertos. The first, that for oboe and bassoon, contained
contemplative and pastoral meanderings surrounded by joyous dialogue in
perfect duet.
The shorter piece for the second half was making its UK premier tour but
Brett Dean's Short Stories, although certainly atmospheric, made it difficult
to relate it to the first Vivaldi work or the stories.
The Flute Concerto saw Vivaldi in totally different guise and included
a quite soporific Largo. It is difficult to find words which haven't been
used before for this wonderful band of musicians but I did overhear “sizzling”.
I'll settle for that.
Local
Secrets
Mike Levy 14 February
2008
Mike Levy wonders
how the Sinfonia do what they do
How do they do it?
Each Britten Sinfonia concert seems more exciting than the last and the
latest offering at West Road was no exception. It was an evening of huge
diversity and great virtuosity: four wonderful Baroque concertos, one
from the 1940s and a very modern piece written only three years ago. The
joy of the Britten starts as soon as the band walk on stage - or bound
on - they are so keen to share their music: they have this wonderful 'wait
till you hear this' attitude. There cannot be a more smiley, more vibrant
and more energised bunch of top-class players than this.
The concert began at a terrific
pace with Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 - essentially a concerto for
small mostly string orchestra with no soloists in dominant role. It was
a truly uplifting performance - and an upstanding one too: the performers
stood as they played and that gave the piece enormous energy and drive.
With what must be the shortest slow movement in the repertoire (two chords)
this Brandenburg has two exhilarating movements: very fast and very very
fast. You can see from this work why Louis Armstrong called Bach 'the
King of Swing' and were it not for the stuffy convention of classical
music audiences having to sit in reverential stillness, we would have
been dancing a jig in the aisles as each group of instruments ducked,
weaved and passed on its thrilling variation of the Bachian theme.
The next piece was equally
wonderful - Vivaldi's Concerto for Oboe and Bassoon. A marvellous Laurel
and Hardy/Abelard and Eloise of a piece, with the two soloists sometimes
in cheeky flirtatious dialogue, and at others interweaving their subtle
variations on Vivaldi's signature melodies like a pair of woodwind wooers.
The last piece of the first half was another revelation: an absolutely
fascinating, engaging and instantly likeable work by the Swiss composer
Honegger - his Concerto da Camera. Written in 1948 it pays homage to Bach
in its contrapuntal style and concise execution. The piece evokes a lush
and impressionistic sound world reminding one of dreamy Debussy or the
Gallic bounce of Poulenc. Again the soloists were in perfect harmony (in
all senses) playing like a couple of jazz musicians: watching each other
like hawks, smiling at each's virtuosity and thoroughly enjoying the work
- as we all did.
After this amazing musical
feast, the second half brought more treats: Emer McDonough back on top
form with Vivaldi's truly astonishing Flute Concerto 'La Notte' - a rich
and even audacious evocation of night. If anyone thinks that Baroque always
sounds the same, listen to this short but intense piece with its six varied
movements. The highlight for me was the fifth, "Sleep", an orchestral
description of a peaceful kip with the strings and flute mimicking the
sounds of deep and relaxed breathing.
After the Vivaldi, came the
contemporary piece: Short Stories by Brett Dean. The Britten here took
us into a very different sound world: spare, elusive and yet hauntingly
engaging especially in the movement: Komarov's Last Words. He was the
first cosmonaut to die in space as his capsule hurtled towards the earth.
With its evocative Sputnik bleeps and a terrible sense of falling into
the void, Dean tells a gripping and terrifying musical short story.
The evening ended with another
Bach Brandenburg concerto: his fifth. Yet again the hard-working McDonough
returned as the flute soloist matched with the ever-excellent Jacqueline
Shave on violin and Laurence Cummings on harpsichord. If anyone thinks
of that instrument as effete or gentile, Cummings (and Bach) showed us
something very different - his cadenza was a thumping torrent of notes,
crashing chords and astonishing counterpoint. It was a very fitting end
to yet another memorable evening. How do they do it?
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