May 16th 2010
AYLESBURY Symphony Orchestra gave its last concert of the season at St Mary’s Church on Sunday May 16.
It began with Verdi's overture The Force of Destiny. Although the opera is rarely performed, the overture is a popular part of the concert repertoire and is also well known as the music used in Jean de Florette. The orchestra gave a spirited performance, capturing the atmosphere of impending doom.
Next, the young Australian pianist, Michael Ierace, played Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 3. Michael, who now studies in London, has won numerous awards including the Coutts & Co. Award for Keyboard in the Royal Over-Seas League Competition. His playing was superb and he was equally at home with the delicacy of the slow movement and the flashy cadenzas of the third.
Finally, we heard Symphony No 1 by Sibelius, a dramatic and striking work that and conjured up the snow-capped hills and dark forests of Finland and was excellently served by the orchestra, whose playing throughout was of a very high standard.
This concert was dedicated to the memory of Roy Harrison who passed away last month. Former chairman, cellist and latterly timpanist with Aylesbury Symphony Orchestra, Roy was also the press contact, and as conductor Jacques Cohen revealed in his introductory talk, did pretty much everything else that ensures the smooth running of an orchestra. As well as missing him greatly on a personal level, the orchestra are also only now realising just how much he did. The way that everyone pulled together to get the show on the road, while maintaining the high standard of musicianship that we have come to expect, was a fitting tribute indeed.
Joss O’Kelly (source : Bucks Herald)
March 14th 2010
AYLESBURY Symphony Orchestra’s concert on Sunday March 14 at St Mary's Church was as usual well attended and the audience thoroughly enjoyed the music on offer.
Jacques Cohen, under whose direction the orchestra has continued to get better with each concert, began by introducing one of his own pieces. A noted composer, Cohen is currently working on a huge orchestral piece entitled Adventures in the Twilight Zone, which I hope we will have the chance to hear in due course.On this occasion we heard Quiet Music, a terrific short piece from 1992 written in a similar style - atmospheric to the point of being creepy. The unsettling tone was a result of combining simple melodies with weird harmonies and the orchestra captured both perfectly.
Next up was Max Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy for violin and orchestra. Its contrasting movements were based on Scottish folk tunes and soloist Francesca Barritt played beautifully throughout, taking full advantage of the opportunities both for lyrical playing and fireworks.
Finally we heard Ralph Vaughan Williams’ London Symphony. Vaughan Williams was determined to give English music a distinctive voice and certainly succeeded here. He began writing it in 1912 but finished it after the First World War, dedicating it to fellow composer George Butterworth who had died on the Somme. What starts as a celebration of London takes on a darker mood in the last movement.
Splendid playing from the whole orchestra and from the individuals who produced the sound effects and solos made this a wonderful interpretation of a great work.
Joss O’Kelly (source : Bucks Herald)
November 15th 2009
ST MARY’S Church held a packed and appreciative audience for Aylesbury Symphony Orchestra's concert on Sunday November 15.
The afternoon began with Khachaturian's Masquerade Suite. Three of the five movements are lively and also very familiar but these are interspersed with two glorious slow movements, the languorous and sensual Nocturne, in which leader Mark Warner took the solo part, and the Romance. The whole was well played with the mood of each section being well portrayed.
Part of the reason why the slower movements are less well known is that they are usually omitted from the play list of a certain radio station, which was alluded to in conductor Jacques Cohen’s introduction to the main work, Dvorak’s From the New World. “The purpose of this symphony”, he said “is not to relax you, but to get you worked up!”
This was given a masterly performance by the orchestra who once again rendered each mood, from the melancholy opening, perhaps occasioned by Dvorak’s absence from his homeland, to dramatic and stormy, expansive and celebratory.
The guest soloist was guitarist Christopher Evesham, who gave a fabulous performance of another favourite, Rodrigo's Concierto d'Aranjuez. The most familiar movement is the spellbinding Adagio, but the whole work expresses the atmosphere of Spain. Christopher’s playing was both skilful and sensitive and was never overpowered by the orchestra, who once again gave an excellent performance.
Whether it was a coincidence, or an inspired piece of programme planning, two of the works, the Khachaturian and Rodrigo, were premiered during the Second World War, making the concert a fitting end to the weeks of remembrance.
Joss O’Kelly (source : Bucks Herald)
May 17th 2009
AYLESBURY Symphony Orchestra concluded its 59th season with a real cracker of a concert conducted by Jacques Cohen at St Mary’s Church on Sunday May 17.
The orchestra was on splendid form and opened with a tremendous performance of Mussorgsky's Night on a Bare Mountain. Distinctive Russian melodies combined with the (deliberately) discordant howlings of the witches’ all-night party for a riot of sound. The theme was Russian and American music and the concert closed with Gershwin’s An American in Paris, which again provided a host of sound effects. The orchestra really got into the spirit of the piece with percussion, wind and brass adding to the atmosphere. The soloist was pianist Michael McHale. Born in Belfast, and trained in Dublin, Cambridge and London, Michael has performed all over Europe and in the USA. We were extremely fortunate to hear this astonishing virtuoso play not the customary one, but two pieces, one Russian, Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto, and one quintessentially American, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
The Shostakovich is a fabulous piece, with a gorgeous slow movement sandwiched between two lively rhythmic sections, while the Gershwin is a huge and deserved audience favourite. For the latter, special mention should go to Peter Newman, for his playing of the iconic clarinet opening. Michael McHale’s performance of these contrasting pieces was expressive and captivating, perfectly portraying the mood of the music. Hearing him play was a wonderful and uplifting experience, much enjoyed by all - most of the time.
Note to parents with accompanying children: if Gershwin had wanted rustling paper accompaniment, he would have put it in the score!
Joss O’Kelly (source : Bucks Herald)
November 9th 2008
AYLESBURY Symphony Orchestra opened its 59th season at St Mary’s Church on Sunday November 9 with an interesting and enjoyable programme.
The soloist was Sara Deborah Struntz, a young violinist who is already a practiced recitalist and chamber musician, playing on both modern and period instruments. Here she gave a glorious performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, a totally controlled and lyrical interpretation of this popular work.
The rest of the programme was less familiar, beginning with a piece that surely deserves a wider audience - Malcolm Arnold’s Peterloo Overture.
This is an extraordinary depiction in music of the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. It opened with the main theme, portraying the peaceful crowd at a political meeting. Then, Aylesbury Orchestra’s talented team of percussionists, playing from the transept, took the part of the soldiers approaching, closer and closer and evermore menacing, until the whole orchestra let rip for the massacre itself. This was followed by a lament for the fallen and a return to the original theme.
The second half of the concert comprised performances of Holst’s little known Beni Mora Oriental Suite, in which, again, much was demanded of the orchestra, who were required to use western instruments to produce a very eastern sound, and finally Borodin’s rhythmic and celebratory Second Symphony.
The orchestra, under conductor Jacques Cohen, who as usual provided helpful introductions to the music, was in excellent form throughout and the superb acoustics of the Church enhanced the balance between the instruments. Overall this was a most enjoyable afternoon of music.
Joss O'Kelly (source : Bucks Herald)
