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Westmorland Orchestra Concert Westmorland Hall, Saturday 15th May 2010 (from
the Westmorland Gazette, May 27th) The Westmorland Orchestra’s May concert was a first in the
history of the orchestra: it marked the only appearance in 65 years of a
woman conductor. The young guest conductor Sinead Hayes, still at the
threshold of her professional career, clearly inspired and energised the
orchestra; and the players responded, giving one of their best performances
in many years. The concert opened with an exhilarating performance of
Glinka’s bustling Overture Ruslan
and Ludmilla. No concessions were made to an orchestra of largely amateur
players and the conductor set a breakneck speed, which is what the work
requires if it is to be effective; but the performance had all the required
excitement with the lower strings producing firm tone when their moment came
to ‘sing’ the ‘big tune’. Following the overture, the young Taiwanese pianist Chiao-Ying
Chang joined the orchestra for a dazzling performance of Gershwin’s jazz-influenced Piano Concerto. Judging by the warmth of the applause which
greeted this performance, this was the highlight of the concert for many in
the audience. The soloist met the formidable technical challenges of this
work with apparent ease, ably backed up by the orchestra: the players clearly
relished Gershwin’s sweeping melodic lines and jazzy rhythms; and
Stella Fitzgerald’s solo trumpet in the slow movement captured so well
the ‘bluesy’ atmosphere of Gerswin’s downtown New York - a
feature noted in Barry Sharkey’s excellent programme notes. After the interval, the players maintained their momentum in
four of Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances,
Strauss’ Emperor Waltz,
concluding in fine style with Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No. 4. Well done, and congratulations to orchestra, conductor and
soloist for giving us a most enjoyable and successful concert! Clive Walkley |