Bachtrack Young Reviewer - List of reviews

Forget the Concert Hall… Orchestral music now has an exciting new venue! On the 30th June and 1st July the stunning Glastonbury Abbey was host to the latest Festival to hit Somerset – Orchestra In A Field. With numerous outstanding performances that were perfectly suited to all ages and musical tastes, this was a weekend not to be missed. The eclectic mix of musical genres featured at Orchestra In A Field created a relaxed atmosphere that was very welcoming. It was very family friendly event with a children’s area that offered numerous activities to keep the young people entertained. Along with an interesting range of high quality food and drink stalls, this event was an exciting day out. The weather was also very kind with just a few light showers that failed to dampen the spirits!

On Saturday 30th June I went to the Orchestra in a Field at Glastonbury Abbey. By the time I arrived Charles Hazelwood’s Excellent Device!, his symphony orchestra, were on the main stage rehearsing for their performance in the evening. I went to explore the variety of tents around the edge of the field. In the Tea Tent I saw a presentation called ‘Is music the process of sounding maths?’ by mathematician Marcus du Sautoy, who is a trumpeter and one of the celebrities on BBC 2’s series Maestro. He talked about patterns of numbers in music. Next I went into the Sensory Music Tent where I played on a range of different musical instruments including a keyboard and an accordion.

This evening I was graced with the opportunity of attending my first opera and having thoroughly enjoyed the grand spectacle of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, I hope that this premier event will lead on to many more of the sort.

Sceptical of what might be served up, I was half prepared for an over dramatic, taking-itself-far-too-seriously affair delivered by a gaggle women resembling Brünnhilde and some happy chappies that would not seem out of place advertising car insurance. How wrong I was. What Scottish Opera delivered was a feast of exquisite vocal performances, delightful melodies and all the drama that one might ever hope for in their usual evening of Saturday television. For a newbie to the opera audience, this production is the perfect all-rounder to tease the musical appetite. Even the odd sprinkle of delectable humour was thrown in to sweeten the deal. Had such treats not occasionally been lost in translation as a result of a marginally overly enthusiastic orchestra, I might say that this performance was perfection.

The Festival Theatre last Saturday was not the city-centre theatre we know it to be, but rather it was transformed into a German forest full of austere gingerbread men, frightened children and a witch reminiscent in terms of looks to Madame de Pompadour; not your average night in Edinburgh then!

The most striking aspect of the opera was the translation. Not only had Bill Bankes-Jones given the lyrics a fresh translation, he gave them a fresh Scottish translation. Though a lot of the Scots went over the heads of the tourists sitting nearby the rest of the audience was
very taken by moments such as when the Witch took Hansel by the arm and the young boy retorts ‘Let me go you silly cow!’.

This season being the last season of a Stèphane Denève fronted RSNO one could tell that after a hugely successful 7 year partnership they were going to go out with a bang and Friday’s concert certainly lived up to such expectations.

The concert opened with Debussy’s three ‘Images’ (French for ‘Pictures’), these pieces offer musical imitations of three countries: England, Spain and France. The first piece entitled Gigues, originally entitled Gigues Tristes meaning ‘sad dances’ is a musical representation of England in which Debussy includes a reworking of the old Tyneside piece ‘The Keel Row’. The RSNO executed the piece wonderfully sending conductor Denève’s brown locks aflight, fully capturing the arrant sorrow of the piece played by the oboe d’amore.

The concert started off with Beethoven’s Fidelio Overture. This great piece of music was played brilliantly by the Brighton Philharmonic, with lots of charismatic energy and colour. The fast, lively passages of violin runs in particular were perfectly performed, with outstanding accuracy and technical ability. However, these more vibrant sections were paired with the slower, woodwind based interludes of the Fidelio Overture, which were beautifully played by the Brighton Philharmonic’s woodwind section, creating a wonderful, sonorous sound to fill the auditorium. In addition to this, the large amount of horns present for this piece definitely had an effect – the amazing harmonies between the horns Beethoven creates was once again pulled off brilliantly by the section. The conductor Barry Wordsworth crafted his interpretation of the work with skill and expertise, creating a performance that was quite outstanding!

The concert I went to see was ‘Drumming’ composed by ‘Steve Reich’ and performed by ‘The Colin Currie Percussion Group’. It was most definitely not what I was expecting but it was a pleasant surprise and I learnt a completely new style of composing using percussion and rhythm as the main focus of the piece.

Before the concert, we went to the pre-concert talk held in the town hall. Colin Currie was interviewed by another man and through their discussion I learnt a lot about the music and the composer I would be listening to. Steve Reich sounds like an extraordinary man who wants to do something ‘different’ with music. They said that in his scores, he often writes the positioning of where each instrument must be which seems to me extremely strange but I can understand that he may feel that the sounds echo differently if in different places. He is a minimalist writer and although I had heard of this style from a composition workshop last year, actually hearing it and experiencing its magic was something completely different.

This was the first time I visited Kings Place and it truly lived up to its reputation. It was fabulous!

Because we arrived half an hour early I got to sit down and enjoy the view of the canal outside and the sculptures inside. As we went down the escalators to arrive at Hall One where the concert was being held we passed the gallery floor. The paintings on that floor foreshadowed what was to come. They were vibrant and full of colour.

On Saturday, April 2, 2011 I attended my first professional orchestra concert and my ears were very pleased. I sat next to my dad with anticipation not really sure what to expect. I chose this particular concert because I have some interest in playing the piano although I currently play the trombone. Before the concert began I heard the orchestra practice and I could tell they were a really good orchestra. The building was massive and seemed like a perfect home for a great orchestra. Severance Hall is the last of the cultural centers in the museum district that I visited.

I went to the concert a little early so as to listen to the 30 minute talk on the pieces and composers in the concert. There was a lot of good information and some humour. The person taking the talk was one of the viola players. He would explain something about the music or a composer’s style and then back it up with evidence from a CD which had recordings of the music. He would point out what he had being saying in the music. He also used quotes from the composers he was talking about. The viola player used some technical language but not much, so it was easy to understand. There was a book he referred to which had paintings illustrating the music. The talk taught me similarities between the symphonies of the composers and explained the style and character of the composers.