Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra
Archive reviews
- 2002/2003 season -
November 2002 - Rossini, Beethoven, Bruckner
February 2003 - Berlioz, Poulenc, Ravel, Saint-Saëns
April 2003 - Shostakovich, Borodin, Kodály, Tchaikovsky
Saturday, November 9th, 2002
"Journey of musical stature"
Concert review by Adrian Smith, Huddersfield Examiner
The epic hour-long journey which comprises Bruckner's Fourth Symphony began magically with Elinor Thomas's limpid horn solo against featherweight string tremolandi, and ended in a triumphant blaze of glorious sound.
Not everything in between was quite so perfect, but overall Saturday night's absorbing performance was one of immense stature.
The engagement of Mark Fitz-Gerald as guest conductor proved to be an inspired choice.
He clearly understands how to manage Bruckner's idiosyncrasies: amongst them, the leisurely unfolding of the musical arguments, the careful build-ups to towering climaxes and the sudden lurches from full orchestra to seemingly inconsequential episodes for a handful of instruments.
The orchestra's undoubted stars were were its magnificent horn section (its trumpets, led by Mike Briggs, a close second). In their less spectacular roles the woodwind were uniformly effective.
The strings were less consistent. Cellos and violas excelled - particularly in the slow movement - and the six basses provided a rock-solid foundation throughout; but the violins' many moments of glory were offset by other occasions when confidence and accuracy were lacking.
Beethoven's Emperor was the concerto, in which Yuriko Murakami was the magisterial soloist. She invested the outer movements with playing of tremendous virility and clarity, and brought poetic insight to the tender repose of the slow movement.
Fitz-Gerald and the orchestra provided firm, sympathetic support, notably from the strings in their many dialogues with the soloist. For my taste, however, trumpets and timpani were too prominent in tutti passages.
A lively account of Rossini's Overture: The Thieving Magpie had begun the concert: graced by felicitous woodwind solos, indeed, but marred by an excess of percussion.
Saturday, February 8th, 2003
"Triumphantly victorious..."
Concert review by Adrian Smith, Huddersfield Examiner
In every respect, Saturday night's concert was a truly exhilarating occasion, in which the Phil, directed by guest conductor John Anderson, emerged from a series of technically punishing battles a little bruised perhaps, but triumphantly victorious.
A confident, vividly-coloured account of Berlioz's Le Carnaval Romain overture was followed by an equally assured account of Ravel's Mother Goose Suite.
If the diaphanous opening movements of this fairytale piece were a touch earthbound, the sumptuous riches of the concluding movements were splendidly unveiled.
Poulenc's Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani was a brave choice. No disrespect to brilliant soloist Joseph Cullen - but his, frankly, is the easy bit.
An altogether more severe test faces the strings. They kept their nerve, shrugged off the difficulties and displayed an admirably sustained feel for the work's unique character.
The Saint-Saens bristles with difficulties perhaps not evident to the average listener - the demand for clarity in those endless scurrying semiquaver passages, for instance, or a slow movement written in what for strings is the nightmarish key of D flat.
These, and other, challenges were almost invariably surmounted in a performance of commendable stature and conviction.
Saturday, April 12th, 2003
"... a musical winner"
Concert review by Adrian Smith, Huddersfield Examiner
An attractive programme, an orchestra in splendid all-round form and the dynamic Nicholas Cleobury on the podium...
Cleobury's supreme gift is his ability to produce the disciplined ensemble (unanimity of attack, clean lines, careful balance) that one associates with a professional orchestra. Indeed, only occasionally wayward intonation betrayed the Phil's amateur status.
He directed a scintillating account of Shostakovich's Festival Overture - at a scorching pace, but with no loss of clear articulation and rhythmic precision.
With Borodin's In the Steppes of Central Asia came a noticeable drop in temperature... Much more to the orchestra's liking was the Háry János Suite, Kodály's brilliant showpiece, which was played with tremendous confidence and panache.
All sections revelled in its folksy flavours, sharp contours and exotic instrumental colours. Of numerous distinguished individual contributions, those of Tim Williams (cimbalom) and a sparkling percussion section (principal, Graham Butcher) were particularly outstanding.
No less persuasive was a magisterial account of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. Cleobury's reading was commendably straightforward, just letting the score speak for itself.
Huddersfield Philharmonic Society is a registered charity.