Reviews
12th February 2011
Riding on the crest of a wave
Brandon Hill Chamber orchestra, St George’s
John Packwood, Bristol Evening Post
This orchestra is renowned for its ambitious programming and Saturday night's was no exception.
One English work by Elgar and Beethoven's mercurial Choral Symphony made up a challenging evening.
Elgar's Sea Pictures is a very evocative work inspired by the composer's visit to Kynance Cove in Cornwall. The five songs are based on poems about the sea.
From the heavy chords conveying the swell in the first to the finale The Swimmer, where the sea boils in anger Rosie Aldridge (mezzo) gave a performance which was full of fervour and commitment engaging the audience in a wonderfully expressive rendition.
Beethoven's 9th symphony is a difficult enough challenge for many professonal orchestras. Brandon Hill, with just over 50 instrumentalists and a choir of 25 made up of handpicked singers from the greater Bristol area, gave a performance of remarkable maturity.
The orchestra started confidently under the excellent leadership of Australian conductor Matthew Coorey and his firm beat kept the players together throughout the all-important first movement.
The colossal finale was probably the most exhilarating part of the symphony.
The makeshift choir, after only two rehearsals, never faltered while soloists, Lesley-Jane Rogers (soprano), Rosie Aldridge (mezzo), Paul Badely (tenor) and Niall Hoskin (bass) gelled very effectively.
Matthew kept the whole work moving in a frest and exciting manner.
9/10
24th May 2010
Masterly performance was a big pleasure
Brandon Hill Chamber orchestra, St George’s
John Packwood, Bristol Evening Post
It was my pleasure to attend the concert in February when the young virtuoso British violinist Charlie Siem played the Dvořák violin concerto. I remarked then that he gave a performance that made the music sparkle.
It was therefore a privilege to hear again this most talented musician in a more difficult concerto, the one by Sibelius. Playing the 1735 Guanerius del Jesu'd'Egville violin, reputedly worth about £3 million, Charlie gave a masterful performance.
The mysterious and plaintive opening soon leads into dramatic and lush orchestration with some wildly outspoken writing for the soloist, including the extremely taxing cadenza, which was played effortlessly. A gently languid adagio culminates in a lumbering finale which has been likened to polar bears dancing in the snow. There was an exemplary balance between soloist and orchestra throughout and the exceptional soloist was thrilling in both his depth and insight into the music.
The orchestra had opened with a lively version of the overture to Rosamunde, in which the string section took full control. Beethoven's 7th Symphony was described by Wagner as 'the apotheosis of the dance' and with good reason.
The first movement opens majestically and soon leads into a thrilling vivace, with rhythms derived from Sicilian dance music. The following noble alegretto leads into an energetic scherzo. In the furious finale, the orchestra was at full stretch producing some immaculate playing in all sections.
9/10.
8th February 2010
Talented orchestra shine in well-balanced chamber show
Brandon Hill Chamber orchestra, St George’s
John Packwood, Bristol Evening Post
For their concert on Saturday, the orchestra presented a well-balanced programme.
Starting with Prokofiev's popular classical symphony, the string section set the high standard one has come to expect especially in the sprightly Allegro and the scurrying finale.
The main work was Schumann's popular Piano Concerto, which the compser said "was something between a symphony, a concerto and a large sonata".
After the dramatic opening in which the pianist is soon thrown into the fray, there is some intimate dialogue between soloist and orchestra. After a riveting cadenza the central intermezzo is light and fresh. This leads into a sparkling finale where the superb soloist Tom Poster showed impressive verve and gusto and altogether this was a really impressive performance. He was well supported by the orchestra.
Those sonorous strings came into their own again in a beautiful but rarely heard short piece Andante Festivo by Sibelius.
Beethoven's 1st Symphony is very much in the mould of Haydn's later works with the strength of its design. The difficult slow introduction was easily overcome and after that the swiftness of the playing made the word sure-footed and delightful. This was a dashing rendition with the conductor Simon Phillipo leading his talented performers with great enthusiasm.
8/10
3rd October 2009
Powerful performances from skilled ensemble
Brandon Hill Chamber orchestra, St George’s
John Packwood, Bristol Evening Post
A mainly Russian programme was presented by BHCO on Saturday.
Opening with ‘The Chairman Dances’ by John Adams, this piece contains various dance rhythms in which a lively percussion section has a busy time. Unlike many works, it comes to an inconclusive ending, the music fading away into the distance.
Prokofiev’s 3rd Piano Concerto is the most popular of the five and is a radiant and good-humoured work that tests the ability of the most skilled soloist. We were privileged to see the young Russian pianist Vyacheslav Sidorenko in a barnstorming performance. The pianist showed his explosive energy and mercurial temperament in ther finale.
Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony opens with a powerful horn theme and I was impressed with the orchestra’s playing on this most difficult of instruments.
Overall this was a staggering performance with the passion and intensity coming through with incredible force. There was once again some scintillating playing from the strings and the pizzicato section in the 3rd movement was very impressive, with more than 30 players.
Young conductor Kevin Griffiths is to be congratulated on obtaining such a professional performance from these talented amateurs.
27th September 2008
Beautifully Cultured
John Packwood, Bristol Evening Post
Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra presented an inventive programme for this concert.
Opening with Grieg’s Holberg Suite, the strings showed a wonderful lightness and delicacy in a beautifully cultured performance. The superb tone was particularly evident in the touching sarabande.
The very first bar of Haydn’s Symphony no. 103 is a dramatic flourish on the timpani, which gave this work the title Drum-roll. After this there is a quiet sustained phrase in the lower register. Later on, there is a set of double variations based on folk tunes, while the finale opens with a bracing call on the horns. Dvorak’s sixth symphony is not heard as often as his last three, but is nevertheless well worth listening to, certainly if we are blessed with the performance that we had at this concert.
From the wonderful opening allegro through to the flowing and lyrical andante, with its superb string playing, the blissful trio and the noble and spirited finale, the excellent young conductor Kevin Griffiths had the whole orchestra under his command throughout.
8/10
JOHN PACKWOOD
12 February 2007
Violinist thrills in Beethoven
John Packwood, Bristol Evening Post
BRANDON Hill Chamber Orchestra celebrated its 20th year in existence with a popular programme on Saturday night.
A fresh and alert performance of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro Overture was followed by Beethoven's violin concerto in a stirring performance by Italian soloist Roberto Cani.
The first movement is a grand construction which contains music of great beauty, the adagio is even more exquisite and the finale offers superb counterplay between the orchestra and soloist.
Cani's playing was both polished and full of flair, and he was particularly impressive in the cadenzas.
There was excellent support from the orchestra under the superb direction of Andrew Shulman.
Cani's encore, a showpiece by Pagannini, covered every aspect of violin playing, and he held the audience spellbound during this item.
Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony is well known for its spontaneity and expansiveness.
The string section was particularly impressive in the opening allegro and the Pilgrims' March offered some stylish playing from all sections. This whole interpretation added a certain freshness to this engaging work.
JOHN PACKWOOD
15th May 2004
Orchestra's effortless performance
John Packwood, Bristol Evening Post
Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra attracted a large audience on Saturday night with a popular programme of well-known classics.
In Mendelssohn's Hebrides overture the balance and range of the music was carefully handled, especially the tranquil middle section.
Thomas Bowes gave a supremely effortless reading of Brahm's Violin Concerto. A monumental first movement led to a light and flexible adagio, in which Barbara McConochie gave a charming rendition of the oboe solo and Bowes showed a joyful flourish in the gyspy-like dance in the finale.
The whole performance was gripping and inspired with excellent support from the orchestra. Andrew Shulman was the excellent conductor and led the players efficiently through some difficult sections in the symphony to produce playing of high standard.
Rating ****
- 3207 reads
