Newsletter, September 2008
Reviews of recent concerts
March 1st, Cheltenham Town Hall
By Roger Jones (Gloucestershire Echo):
David Curtis and the CSO did the Mayor of Cheltenham’s Charity Appeal
proud with their latest concert which celebrated the music of Vienna. The
choice of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 21 as the centrepiece of the
concert was a most fortunate one.
Douglas Smith, the founder of the CSO who died in January, was particularly
fond of Mozart and often performed it with the orchestra in times past.
He would certainly have admired the finesse and agility of the young Chinese
pianist, Wu Qian.
In the nonchalant opening movement her hands danced over the keys and she
dealt with the concerto’s two challenging cadenzas with flair and
understanding.
In the concluding Rondo, Qian matched the orchestra’s exuberance with
some dazzling turns of speed.
The rest of the programme was devoted to the music of Johann Strauss II
starting off with the glorious melodies from the Overture to Die Fledermaus.
After recent visits to Cheltenham by smaller Strauss orchestras it was a
treat to hear his music played by a larger ensemble. Attention to orchestral
detail created a great atmosphere and made the Emperor Waltz a particularly
magical experience.
Note: The concert raised over £3100 for the Mayor of Cheltenham’s Charities, the largest sum raised in any single event during the mayoral year.
May 11th, Pittville Pump Room
By Anne Dunn (Gloucestershire Echo):
Under the usual calm control of conductor David Curtis the Cheltenham
Symphony Orchestra gave the first performance of Concerto for French horn
and Orchestra by Tom Kane. It was a bold move to begin with solo horn, but
the work was in the capable hands of Alec Frank-Gemmill, a soloist of merit,
who obviously enjoyed this new work.
If applause is any criterion, the audience also thoroughly approved.
The first lyrical movement showed that Kane knows how to balance his forces
by contrasting horn with woodwind, mainly the flute. These contrasting passages
continued throughout, and there was judicious use of trumpets in the last
movement. The long sinuous lines in the middle movement were played with
really rich horn tone.
This composition hopefully will be taken into the repertoire.
Note: Tom tells me that a second performance, again by Alec Frank-Gemmill, is planned for next year.
June 28th, Wycliffe College Chapel
From a loyal and (obviously!) knowledgeable supporter of the orchestra:
On opening my programme the leaflet advertising the War Requiem fell out, and I thought to myself, oh goodness that is a bit ambitious, and what is more they are going to perform in the Colston Hall as well as Tewkesbury Abbey. But after last night’s concert, and especially the Rachmaninov Symphony, I have no doubts at all that this will be a magnificent concert. The percussionists had a good warm up in the Rossini Overture, but the Symphony was superb. The strings and brass were exceptional; I have never heard the strings play so well and so together and with such confidence, just brilliant. I must get over to Tewkesbury to get my ticket as I am sure it will be a sell out.
Note: Let us hope she is right! This was the Orchestra’s first performance in the Chapel. It proved to have a good acoustic for our kind of music and from the players’ point of view a return visit would be welcomed (and is planned for 2009). There were however a few issues vis-à-vis the audience that need attention (and will receive attention on any future occasion).
Annecy, July/August
This, the Orchestra’s first ever trip abroad, was a resounding success,
superbly organised by Christopher Sturdy, ably assisted “in the field”
by our transport officers (Michael and Ann St John) and our Mother Hen (Hilary
Vallance). Together they ensured that players and instruments were at the
right venues on the right days. Jamie and Cathy then ensured that the players
had their music, and Ben that they had somewhere to sit.
Three concerts were given: two of them were part of the Festival de Musique
et Nature en Bauges, and were very well attended, with enthusiastic audiences
of over 150 and over 200 respectively. The third, our own concert in Annecy,
was rather less well attended but served as a fitting and rousing climax
to the visit, ending with a performance of Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony.
The concerts gave us the opportunity to showcase three “home grown”
soloists – Amelia Jones (violin), Janet McKechnie (clarinet) and Rachel
Howgego (cello).
A tongue-in-cheek account of the week’s events, written by Carole
Wrightson, will be published separately, as will a very illuminating account
of the logistic activities invisibly but vitally performed by Michael and
Ann.
Note that Carole and Michael are both viola players, so no more jokes about the viola please, unless of course you hear a good one, in which case please share it!
Photographs taken during the Annecy visit can be viewed on www.flickr.com/photos/cso2008/
Note: The Orchestra has already been informally invited to visit Annecy again in 2010.
Remaining concerts in 2008
After such an eventful half-year one might be tempted to say “Follow that if you can!” Well, that is exactly what the Orchestra will strive to do. On October 4th at 7.30pm there will be the annual concert in support of Farmers Overseas Action Group. The programme comprises Mozart’s Symphony no. 35. Handel/Harty's Water Music Suite and Mahler’s Fourth Symphony.
These concerts are always well attended and produce a useful return for the charity, whose work you can read about on their recently revamped website www.foag.org
Tickets (£12.50) from the FOAG Office, 01905 830745, and at the door.
This will be followed in November by two performances of Britten’s
War Requiem, in Tewkesbury Abbey on the 8th and in Colston Hall, Bristol,
on the 9th (both at 7.30pm) It will for most of us be a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to perform this moving, iconic work, written on a massive scale
for large orchestra, chamber orchestra, adult choir, boys’ choir and
three soloists (two members of the highly talented Chapman family and Richard
Edgar-Wilson, renowned throughout the world for his performance of the tenor
solo).
An event that should not be missed!
Note: The Tewkesbury Abbey concert will have the benefit of very substantial support from Lincoln Financial Group (LFG), for which the Orchestra is enormously grateful.
Tewkesbury Abbey tickets (£12) from the Abbey Shop, Church Street, Tewkesbury, Tel. 01684 276655 and
Alison’s Bookshop, 138 & 139 High Street, Tewkesbury, tel. 01684 274600, and at the door.
Colston Hall tickets: 07726 762070 Bristol Choir ticket line; Colston Hall 0117 922 3686
The year ends with our now traditional Christmas concert at Pittville Pump Room on Sunday December 14th at 7.30pm – traditional in the sense that we will be following our very successful formula of recent years – a glittering programme of mainly Russian music (including Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto, Mussorgsky’s Night on a Bare Mountain and Tchaikovsky’s Suite from Nutcracker), two soloists (Samantha Ward – making her third appearance with the Orchestra - and Therese de Souza, a fourteen-year-old violinist) and the Year 6 choir from Leckhampton CofE Primary School.
Tickets (£12.50 with concessions) from Town Hall Box Office, tel. 01242 227979 and at the door.
More on the support received from Lincoln Financial Group
We supplied a very detailed bid, describing our financial state and specifically
seeking their support for our performance of the War Requiem in the Abbey.
The company does not regard this as “sponsorship” but as part
of their commitment to a “Community Partnership Programme”.
Key factors that we feel set CSO apart from other orchestras in the county
(and probably further afield too) are: we bring classical music to a wide
area, not just to Cheltenham, we support charities whenever we can, and
we involve young musicians whenever possible (AYCA and GYM winners and children’s
choirs).
All part of reaching out into the wider community and well worth the effort
involved.
And finally……
Contributions to future issues of this newsletter would be welcomed.Contact Ron Nourse, 01242 675855, ron@nourse.fsnet.co.uk