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Westmorland Orchestra Concert Westmorland Hall, Saturday 5th December 2009 For
the opening of the 65th Concert Season, the Westmorland Orchestra welcomed
David Chatwin as guest conductor. He plays Principal Bassoon in the BBC
Philharmonic and is also a very experienced conductor. It
was obvious from the start that he had prepared the orchestra well. Although
Rossini’s colourful Overture
‘The Thieving Magpie’, which opened the evening, contained a
few ‘fluffed’ notes, it had sparkle and was performed at a
manageable speed: the four percussion players added greatly to the
audience’s enjoyment; there was some pleasing solo work from woodwind
soloists and well-controlled orchestra tuttis. The performance just needed a
little more dash to make it really exciting. Piano
soloist, Helen Reid, gave a fine performance of Rachmaninov’s second Piano Concerto. From the finely
graded crescendo of the opening chords through to the dazzling ending she
held our attention, playing with energy and delicacy as required. The
orchestra responded well to the challenges of this work. The
‘big’ opening tune, played by the upper strings, had all the
fervour it needed; indeed, the confident playing of the string section was a
characteristic throughout the evening. Particularly impressive was the
performance of the third movement. There are many changes in speed and mood
in this movement, and the coherence that was a feature of this performance is
not easy to achieve; conductor, soloist and orchestra worked together as a
team. Again
it was obvious that a lot of care had gone into the preparation of
Dvorak’s long and demanding Symphony
No. 7. Speeds were perhaps a little on the cautious side, but phrases had
shape, rhythms were carefully controlled and a very good balance was achieved
between the various sections of the orchestra; at no time did the excellent
brass section overwhelm the rest of the orchestra as sometimes happens. Overall,
this was an impressive start to the season; succeeding visiting conductors
have a lot to live up to. Clive Walkley |