reviews.

MUSIC Reformation Symphony CBSO at Symphony Hall ....

THERE is a magical moment in the first movement of Mendelssohn's Reformation Symphony. A series of fanfares - the CBSO's brass section impressive throughout - is interrupted by high strings which usher in a wonderful melody from another realm. Just six notes but what an effect it has.

It's not Mendelssohn but the Dresden Amen composed by Gottlieb Naumann in the previous century. Nothing in the rest of the work matches that moment although the third movement's opening theme is one Bruckner could have worked up into something majestic - seductive playing from the CBSO strings - but despite its stirring subject the symphony is amiable, not awe-inspiring.

The orchestra, under Jeremie Rhorer, never cosseted the music and it received a strong and sinewy performance as did Mendelssohn's deservedly popular overture The Hebrides.

Rhorer elicited some sparkling playing from the orchestra in the outer movements of the youthful Prokofiev's witty Classical Symphony and the finale was breathless and breathtaking in its headlong speed, accuracy and precision. The inner movements however were, surprisingly for a French conductor, lacking in joie de vivre.

Where was the subtle rubato which conveys a coquettish glance and slyly knowing wink? Rhorer needed to loosen up and did so in Ravel's Piano Concerto in G following the lead of his splendid soloist Francesco Piemontesi. The Italian's pacing (hypnotically slow in the adagio) and phrasing (not always mechanically on the beat, letting the jazzy sections really swing) always felt spot on. It's a concerto that should dazzle us - here it did.

Norman Stinchcombe Benjamin Grosvenor Barber Institute .....

As one of the brightest, in-demand pianists of his generation Benjamin Grosvenor likes to do things differently. After all, how often do you hear Bach, Berg, Brahms, Ravel and Debussy lumped together on the same programme - with Brett Dean? In some ways it made sense: Ravel and Debussy obviously, Berg and Brahms as opposite poles of late-romanticism (Brahms's Op.119 Intermezzi and E flat Rhapsodie were interleaved with Dean's 2013 Hommage a Brahms pieces, although both would have been more effective on their own) and Bach, who should always be supremely left alone.

Grosvenor's account of Bach's French Suite No. 5 displayed Baroque awareness (crisp fingerwork, neat ornamentation, hardly any pedal) with a modern pianistic approach to tempi (dashingly fast in places), singing tone and emotionally-charged dynamics. And very attractive it was - if not for sniffy purists.

But the mix of styles in the Brahms/ Dean sequence didn't really work, despite Grosvenor's expansive tonal range, well-applied rubato and his brilliance in Dean's 'Hafenkneipenmusik' and Brahms' Rhapsodie.

Debussy's Prelude a l'apre midi d'un faune, in Leonard Borwick's 1914 transcription, with bits added from George Copeland's version and Grosvenor himself, was also unconvincing, lacking transparency and sounding too busy.

No caveats, though, with the rest.

Berg's Sonata, Op.1 was marvellous, all jagged edges and febrile post-romantic energy; and in Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit Grosvenor reached his virtuosic peak, with gorgeous orchestral washes of sound in 'Ondine', delicate sonorities in 'Le gibet', and a 'Scarbo' whose devilish mischief erupted in blazes of fingercrippling passage-work. Most exciting - and deliciously scary.

David Hart Ghost Variations Artrix, Bromsgrove ????? .....

Ghost Variations is a highly readable novel about the rescue of the Schumann Violin Concerto from the stacks of the Prussian State Library to which it had been consigned soon after its composition in 1853.

Schumann's wife Clara, his protege Brahms, and the violinist Joseph Joachim feared it conveyed too much of the composer's crumbling state of mind, and withdrew it from circulation; my own suspicion is that it was deliberately misfiled to keep it from public scrutiny.

But a glass-game seance carried out by the violinist Jelly d'Aranyi and her sister in Chelsea in 1933 brought a message from Schumann begging them to hunt the score out, and Jessica Duchen's well-researched book grips us as we eventually arrive at the triumph of the work's London premiere at the Queen's Hall.

Duchen has condensed the essence of her book into an adroit documentary script, which together with a few appropriate back-projections (including a hauntingly attractive one of d'Aranyi herself) and some brilliantly sensitive lighting, makes for an engaging evening.

Her narration well-paced and dramatic (if not always crystal-clear), Duchen was joined by violinist David le Page and pianist Viv McLean in a programme punctuated by performances pertinent to the story.

There was perhaps a shade too much gipsy music in the offerings, though I wouldn't have missed le Page's understatedly virtuosic Tzigane, composed by Ravel for d'Aranyi, and scattered with demanding multiple-stoppings.

McLean accompanied with such empathy throughout the programme, and his gradual fading of the slow movement to the Schumann concerto, the violinist now standing self-effacingly in the background, was highly moving.

Pity the atmosphere was broken by the intrusion of 1930s popular music (though welcome pre-show and during the interval) as we quietly gathered our things and pondered.

Christopher Morley Kidderminster Festival Orchestra Kidderminster Town Hall ????? .....

Annette Jackson has long had a dream of launching a professional orchestra in Kidderminster, and last Saturday, after a lot of hard work on her part (not least in fund-raising), that dream was realised in the intimate grandeur which is the Town Hall's unique atmosphere.

The Kidderminster Festival Orchestra has a youthful complement of freelancers (one wonders if the same bunch can be assembled in the future), producing under scoreless Jackson's fluent, clear baton a crisp, fresh sound.

Many of these names were new to me, every one of them impressing. Horns and trumpets were particularly splendid, and bassoons coped magnificently with the breathtaking speed Jackson set for Mozart's Marriage of Figaro Overture, which would have resulted in a very soft-boiled egg (this usually four minute piece is nicknamed "the egg-timer")..

A selection of baroque items mixed authentic performance practice (excellent harpsichord support, including in Haydn's symphony 'Le Matin', on the cusp of baroque and classical) with the more questionable: rich string vibrato, and clarinets added in some arrangements.

Concertmaster Shulah Oliver was the awesome solo violinist in Bach's Fourth Brandenburg Concerto, joined by the sweet-toned, athletic recorders of Michelle Holloway and Katie Allsop, the latter part of the KFO's Young Graduate scheme. And Alan Thomas was the simply brilliant soloist on a bright instrument in E in a lively account of the Trumpet Concerto by Hummel (what a snitch that composer was, pinching from Mozart's Haffner Symphony and 21st Piano Concerto).

Overall the evening was a triumphant vindication of Annette Jackson's vision, but the glossy programme-book could have done with tight editing and sharper proof-reading (there is no such thing as a "Principle Conductor").

Christopher Morley Dudley International Piano Competition Final Symphony Hall ....

From the original 53 entrants, three pianists had won through to the final of this competition, each performing a concerto accompanied by the CBSO under associate conductor Michael Seal. Israeli pianist Ariel Lanyi opted to play Mozart - a rarity in competitions and a refreshing change.

He performed the turbulent Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor and showed both a delicacy of touch allied to robustness, ensuring that Mozart's music was never prettified. In the slow movement, sections of the solo writing are only sketched in - Mozart would have filled out the part when playing it - so the performer must decide whether to play just the printed score or to elaborate the part, hopefully in the style of the composer. Lanyi chose the latter option, decorating subtly and tastefully and his interplay with the excellent CBSO wind players in the finale was most pleasing.

British pianist Julian Trevelyan was cheered loudly by the audience for his performance of Beethoven's fourth piano concerto. I'm afraid I didn't share their enthusiasm finding little that was nuanced in his playing and, while technical accuracy should not be the sole criterion of performance, too many distracting inaccuracies. Canadian pianist Scott MacIsaac gave an enjoyably robust and muscular (if not particularly imaginative) performance of Rachmaninov's second piano concerto well supported by the CBSO. Ariel Lanyi won the First Prize (The Limoges Prize) of PS4,000; Julian Trevelyan won the Second Prize of PS3,000 and the Audience Prize of PS250; Scott MacIsaac won the Third Prize of PS2,000.

Norman Stinchcombe Mozart Requiem City of Birmingham Choir at Symphony Hall ????? .....

As expected, this Raymond Gubbay concert attracted a large audience keen to enjoy its all-Mozart programme. Good for them, and the City of Birmingham Choir under their conductor Adrian Lucas, who gave a lively account of the Requiem in the second half. In general terms it was a decent enough effort, although the expressivity and emotional range of the work remained largely unexplored.

But there was a lot of punchy articulation in the Dies irae, and the 'Osanna in excelsis' fugues were confidently addressed. Often, though, as in 'Rex tremendae', we heard the same vocal colouring at every dynamic level, with some of the loudest sections exhibiting more of an unbecomingly rough edge than properly tempered, tonally balanced choral singing.

Solo contributions, too, were of varying quality, the most reliably impressive being baritone Morgan Pearse, whose vituperative Tuba mirum (with an excellent trombone obbligato) was splendidly sung.

Thank goodness, then, for Tom Poster, soloist in the Piano Concerto No 21 in C, whose well-sprung rhythms, limpid tone and finely sculpted passage-work (no aimless running up and down the keyboard here), together with a responsive Mozart Festival Orchestra, provided such a delight before the interval.

The ever-popular Andante was delivered as it should be, like a serenade rather than schmaltzy love song; and in the finale Poster's light-fingered cadenza and the coda that followed sounded as if everyone was having fun.

David Hart Maria Joao Pires Birmingham Town Hall ????? .....

There are some superstar musicians in every discipline who certainly let the public know it. Then there are others, such as the great Portuguese pianist Maria Joao Pires, who modestly and unaffectedly present themselves as vessels through which the music is allowed to speak for itself.

And this was the overwhelming impression on Monday, when Pires made Birmingham Town Hall the first venue in the gradual process of her retirement from the performing stage; this poignant odyssey will come to its conclusion in March.

With tones of utmost clarity, subtly coloured textures and nuances, she gave us two Mozart sonatas (F major K332, Bflat major K333) with wit and affection, bringing us close to the operatic world they breathe. The adagio of K332 was rapt, otherworldly, and in K333 she teased out harmonic byways with a wonderful interplay of voice-leading between the hands.

Pires revealed all the far-reaching implications of Schubert's Four Impromptus D935, ruminatory, improvisatory, and appreciatively conveying the quiet sunlight at the core of the otherwise rigorous First Impromptu, later piercing the heart with the painful serenity of the "Rosamunde" Third.

Her encore, Beethoven's G major Bagatelle from his Op.126 set, was a perfect balm, and the standing ovation came from a genuine appreciation.

Tuesday lunchtime she reappeared, this time with her Serbian colleague Milos Popovic. Separately they each performed a Beethoven Sonata (Pires bringing energy, strength, boogie-woogie bopping and head-bowing humility to an otherworldly account of the C minor Op111, Popovic honest and no-frills in the F minor "Appassionata).

Together, they performed Schubert Duets with the respect and empathy they deserve. In their delivery of the Lebenssturme and the great F minor Fantasia (100% minor keys in this programme) they evoked both the salon intimacy of these conceptions, but also a sophisticated to-and-fro of shadings to which so many of us amateurs could never aspire.

Christopher Morley OPERA Die Fledermaus Welsh National Opera at Birmingham Hippodrome .....

A smiling operetta for all to enjoy. The apparently unresponsive audience was, in fact, listening intently, reacting eventually to astute offerings from the imaginative cast. A large, well-balanced orchestra accompanied the singers, whilst delivering many of the familiar melodies which initially appear in the popular overture. All in the capable hands of conductor James Southall.

A somewhat convoluted story was helped by surtitles, necessary to understand occasionally unclear English sung by lively singers. Strauss carried us along with his lovely accessible music.

It all teased the imagination, with chorus and soloists entering into the spirit of the inevitable drinking scene and whirling dancers at Prince Orlofsky's ball. The crowd on stage were admirable as all participants sang during the colourful scene. Anna Harvey's immediately accepted warm mellow alto was ideal for the young prince.

However, the highlight of the evening was undoubtedly Judith Howard's portrayal of the masked Hungarian countess with her splendid vocal range thrilling to unbelievable highs and lows. What a star!

A fun character was gaoler Frosch (Steve Spiers) with his hilarious hints of modern humour and knockabout teasing. All the character parts (too many to name individually) earned accolades now from the involved audience at the final curtain calls. A splendid evening throughout.

Maggie Cotton FromThe House of the Dead Welsh National Opera at Birmingham Hippodrome .....

Janacek's terse, gritty operatic setting of Dostoevsky's From the House of the Dead packs a powerful punch during the course of its 90 minutes (a whole opera within the timescale of one of Wagner's Ring acts), and this WNO revival of David Pountney's original 1982 production certainly hits us hard.

This is a very grim Porridge without the laughs, with guards in this Siberian prison-camp brutal, prisoners not quarrelling over toothpaste but trying desperately to cling onto their own identities, proudly telling the story of how they've ended up in this living hell.

Maria Bjornson (how lovely to be reminded of her talent) designed an amazingly intricate ruin of a set -- kids would love this as a play-vehicle -- subtly and resourcefully lit by Chris Ellis and Benjamin Naylor, over which the prisoners trudge their miserable daily routine. Actually, nothing much happens in this snapshot of prison life, so there is no probing focus on individual characters. The only real progression is the incarceration of the political prisoner Goryanchikov (born of Dostoevsky's own experience), his gratuitous flogging, and unexplained release.

Instead this is a corporate experience, soloists emerging from the sturdy background of the men of the WNO Chorus, and how wonderfully they project with committed intensity. Janacek miscalculates when he allocates the role of the young boy Alyeya (here movingly sung by Paula Greenwood), to a soprano, with timbres at odds with the opera's bluff masculine tones.

A deliberately raw orchestra is a relentless collaborator (though in another miscalculation Janacek gives his players Czech speech and dance-rhythms - in remote Siberia), and the WNO Orchestra under Tomas Hanus was both powerful and delicate in delivery.

Goryanchikov's spell of stir is symbolised by the parallel plight of an injured eagle which eventually soars to freedom. Last time this production came to the Hippodrome we thrilled to a real eagle flying out into the auditorium; no such frisson this time, unfortunately.

Christopher Morley Eugene Onegin Welsh National Opera at Birmingham Hippodrome .....

Tchaikovsky's opera contrasts the formality of the characters' social lives and the intensely disruptive emotions they experience.

James Macdonald's production (revived by Caroline Chaney) privileges the first at the expense of the second. If the acting was sometimes as wooden as the looming institutionally grey sets did this signify a shortcoming in the artists or the constriction of the production? I suspect the latter.

One felt sorry for Nicholas Lester's Onegin who spent the first two acts buttoned up to the throat in black looking more like an undertaker than a romantic hero. We know that love is blind but it's impossible to fathom why Tatyana is dazzled by him. Jason Bridges' lyric tenor was an excellent fit for Lensky - his nostalgic aria before the duel with Onegin was sensitively phrased - but we saw little of the character's fervid, dreamy poetic nature. At one point Onegin asks Lensky why he's looking like Byron's tortured hero Childe Harold when he's merely staring blankly at the audience.

Natalya Romaniw has the vocal equipment for Tatyana but the emotional volatility of the Letter Scene was muted and the gestures lacked spontaneity. Miklos Sebestyen was able to suggest the tender heart under Prince Gremin's formal exterior with a firmly-sung aria. The smaller parts were well taken and the WNO Chorus' singing was excellent but their dancing was often hampered by the cramped sets. The conductor Ainars Rubikis didn't reveal all the beauties of the wonderful score and the waltz and polonaise weren't rhythmically incisive.

Norman Stinchcombe THEATRE Duet For One Malvern Festival Theatre ????? .....

Conflict is the theatre's lifeblood. Consider Hamlet, A View From The Bridge or most of Chekhov where characters wear garments of a sombre tone and lament the lack of happiness in their thwarted lives.

Acceptance or contentment with the deal life has handed out to you does not really bring you to the edge of your seat. It's the exploration of conflict, anger, dark intent, uncertainty, fear or a longing for the impossible that are the elements which make drama exciting.

In fact, the old newspaper editors always used to say that tragedy and horror make the best headlines.

Tom Kempinski explores these ideas in his play: Duet For One, where a former concert violinist, Stephanie (Belinda Lang) is diagnosed with M.S. and thus forced to confront not only the loss of a brilliant career, but also the end of her life, something which is a certainty.

The play is a two-hander and set in the study of a German-born psychiatrist, Dr. Feldmann (Oliver Cotton).

The superb set by Lez Brotherston, with its visible collection of African tribal figures, recalls Sigmund Freud's study.

These superb actors play out Stephanie's tragedy over the two hours of Kempinski's piece and, as is always the case when fine performances develop the plot, time flies.

Stephanie sits for most of the evening in her wheelchair with the psychiatrist sitting opposite to her. This kind of arrangement can lead to a certain dullness. But that is not the case here.

As Stephanie's early life begins to unravel so does her attitude. She is no stranger to conflict or desperation, delight is as foreign to her as connubial bliss or domestic contentment, although she lies about both, as she lies about her composer husband's brilliance.

She sneers at the doctor's fees, and mocks his patience as she grows wildly angry at his probing questions.

Her parents are brought into the equation and she blames her father's indifference to her prowess as a violinist, as something which has helped to sow the seeds of her current infirmity.

As Lang moves from well-dressed to shabby rag-doll state, her acting is totally admirable.

The drama here lies in the words not in stage movement and these fine actors bring it all to sad life wonderfully well.

Finally, how do you close a play whose end is inevitable? Kempinski brings it all down to a whisper, where the last sounds are Cotton's. If, like this reviewer, through other commitments, you missed this production initially at Birmingham Rep, check it out at Malvern - you will not be disappointed.

Until Saturday.

Richard Edmonds

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Title Annotation:	Features
Publication:	The Birmingham Post (England)
Geographic Code:	4EUUK
Date:	Nov 9, 2017
Words:	3171
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