Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra
Archive Reviews
- 2007/2008 season -
November 2007 - Mendelssohn, Grieg, Tchaikovsky
February 2008 - Khachaturian, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov
April 2008 - Von Suppe, Brahms, Berlioz
Saturday, November 17th, 2007
"Swathed in Romanticism"
Concert review by William Marshall, Huddersfield Examiner
The Town Hall was swathed in nineteenth century romanticism on Saturday nigtht. If the Huddersfield Phil could not always summon up the extremes of emotion that such repertoire can demand, there were highly creditable accounts of popular works.
The concert opened with Mendelssohn's overture The Hebrides. This short composition is almost a soundtrack for early romanticism and perhaps the performance given by the orchestra was somewhat restrained, almost classical. But initial tentativeness was soon overcome, in time for Grieg's Piano Concerto.
Saturday's young soloist, the former Huddersfield University student Jonathan Fisher, gave a technically assured performance which was almost as persuasive as as that of the more experienced and excellent Roland Pontinen whom we heard in September. Fisher's crashing cadenzas had all the intensity we could ask for.
The concert concluded with Tchaikovsky's Symphony No2. For this there was a full low brass section, which made a powerful contribution, especially in the rousing and very Russian chorale that began the final movement.
From an audience perspective it would seem that Natalia Luis-Bassa has a very clear beat and this is perhaps allied to her evident ability to achieve clarity of detail from the orchestra, including some very neat conclusions to passages and movements.
Saturday, February 9th, 2008
"Engaging and absorbing"
Concert review by David Kaye, Huddersfield Examiner
The short, but popular, Sabre Dance by Khachaturian opened a theatrical first half as the HPO performed works by composers from the old Soviet bloc.
Initial awkwardness eventually resolved itself under the tight direction of conductor Natalia Luis-Bassa.
The Philharmonic were then joined by actor Robert Powell to give an utterly engaging and absorbing rendition of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.
Here was an opportunity for various sections of the orchestra to shine and, without exception, from the jaunty mischievousness of the strings, through portrayals of the characters from the horns and woodwind to the menace of the hunters, they excelled.
For some, particularly the many children in the audience, this was probably the highlight of the evening.
For lovers of more serious music, however, the best was yet to come. Performed almost 100 years to the day since its premiere, Rachmaninov's Symphony No2 in E Minor is no light undertaking.
Opening with brooding lower strings suggesting the impending conflict; the serenity of the higher strings was soon established to be replaced in the second and third movements with the soaring passion that is the hallmark of Rachmaninov.
Most listeners will judge the performance of this work by the famous Adagio. The Philharmonic was in command throughout. This was most evident in the delicate passages punctuating the the rhapsodic climaxes of this third movement.
The Allegro vivace summed up the concert. A triumph. Here is an orchestra which deserves to bear the name of a town so renowned for its musical heritage.
Saturday, April 26th, 2008
"Berlioz brings out the best"
Concert review by William Marshall, Huddersfield Examiner
After a first half that was short but musically lacklustre, it was remarkable that the second half consisted of a quite exceptional performance of a monumental work
The Phil's account of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique deserved every moment of its rapturous reception.
The concert had begun with the Light Cavalry Overture by von Suppe and the St Anthony Chorale variations by Brahms. The former lacked zest; the latter was occasionally ragged and suffered from some problems of balance.
But from the very beginning of the Berlioz - with some well disciplined, sonorous and suitably eerie string playing - it was obvious that we were in for a highly satisfying musical experience.
Nor was it simply that the orchestra revelled in the fantastical aspects of the symphony, in which Berlioz depicts a bizarre and often macabre sequence of dreams. The work also has a rigorously classical dimension, and the conductor and orchestra displayed admirable poise where necessary.
But there was no lack of colour, with many soloists, including percussion, cor-anglais, oboe, clarinet and bassoons, really making their mark.
And although Michael Briggs was listed as playing trumpet alone, his lyricism in the second movement had all the cantabile quality of the cornet for which the music was originally composed.
With this Berlioz performance, the Philharmonic laid down a marker for what it can achieve.
Huddersfield Philharmonic Society is a registered charity.