Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra

Archive Reviews
- 2006/2007 season -

November 2006 - Brahms, Beethoven, Sibelius, Shostakovich
February 2007 - Korngold, Barber, Copland, Bernstein
April 2007 - Britten, Vaughan Williams, Elgar

Saturday, November 11th, 2006

"Season opens in style"

Concert review by David Hammond, Huddersfield Examiner

Natalia Luis-Bassa, conducting the Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra, opened the season in splendid style on Saturday, with a mixture of the familiar and and less familiar which was skilfullly delivered and highly entertaining.

In Beethoven's Triple Concerto, the Gould Piano Trio - Benjamin Frith (piano), Lucy Gould (violin) and Alice Neary (cello) - played with delicacy, charm and rich expression. The slow movement, with its grave but beautiful cello solo, proved particularly moving, and the fruitful co-ordination continued in stylish fashion in the fast-moving finale.

Brahms' Tragic Overture, which opened the evening, is not completely sad, for there are some optimistic and re-assuring passages, and the quality of the orchestra's strings and woodwind was apparent in the colourful orchestration.

Those wonderfully evocative horns and trumpets provided the opening fanfare in the Karelia Suite by Jean Sibelius, where the ballad section, with its moody woodwind and sighing strings, was pensive and atmospheric. An admirable lightness of touch marked the cheerful concluding march.

Not as tempestuous, and certainly more cheerful than some of his other symphonic creations, Shostakovich's Ninth Symphony was completed in 1945, and its light spirits conveyed the relief at the ending of the Second World War.

The third movement is a lively affair, and as the work moved on to a taut conclusion, Natalia Luis-Bassa built up the excitement steadily but impressively, with heady brass, quirky bassoon and and staccato strings all making distinctive contributions.

Saturday, February 3rd, 2007

"Phil triumphs in face of American challenge"

Concert review by William Marshall, Huddersfield Examiner

Conductor Natalia Luis-Bassa certainly put the Phil through its paces in an all-American programme that made massive technical demands.

There was an occasional tentative quality to the playing, but the orchestra members can feel pleased that they brought off some difficult music and gave Huddersfield concert-goers the opportunity to hear some relatively unfamiliar music.

There was also the bonus of hearing a brilliant young violinist, the Taiwan-born Leland Chen, who was the soloist for Korngold's Violin Concerto, composed in 1946.

The endlessly shape-changing nature of the work meant that it had plenty of musical interest. Chen was playing for virtually the whole time and his intonation in high position playing was flawless. The concerto also made heavy demands on the orchestra but the astute Luis-Bassa steered them through it well.

The sonority of the strings was a little disappointing in Barber's celebrated Adagio, and while Copland's El Salon Mexico was an excellent technical exercise for the orchestra it never took fire.

Rather better was Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. More than just a medley of hits, this lavishly orchestrated, melodically enticing and rhythmically exciting piece received an excellent account.

Saturday, April 28th, 2007

"Impressive... expressive"

Concert review by David Heathcote, Huddersfield Examiner

Britten's American Overture opened this otherwise very English programme. It is an Englishman's reflection of American music at the time. Venezuelan Natalia Luis-Bassa is an expressive and passionate conductor who embodied the distinctively American rhythms of the overture. The orchestra responded well and gave a good performance.

Ralph Vaughan Williams' Oboe Concerto in A Minor provided a contrasting piece. His resolutely English style was portrayed well by the Philharmonic and accompanied soloist Rachael Clegg beautifully.

Elgar's Symphony No2 was a popular choice for this orchestra and there were many elements where it lived up to expectations. The opening was impressive and later featured some expressive playing from the cellos (led by Matt Haynes) and the woodwind. The Larghetto showed the orchestra at its best with well controlled mood building passages, which reflect Elgar's feelings at the death of Edward VII. The final held chord of the movement was excellent and masterfully controlled by Luis-Bassa.

This symphony, however, exposed some areas for overall improvement, especially rhythmic tightness and tuning within sections. This would result in a cleaner sound that the orchestra deserves and certainly has the elements to achieve.