A stylish performance with melodic charm
The concert on Sunday 19th of January in Kendal Town Hall was a new venture for the orchestra. However, as a venue for a programme of 18th century music, it worked well; many concert halls of that period would not have been much bigger than Kendal Town Hall. Moreover, playing in this hall rather than the Westmorland Hall or Kendal Parish Church, the orchestra’s usual venues, gave the performance a chamber music feel which it would have had in the 18th century.
The relatively small orchestra was ideal for this programme. The leader, Martin Hughes, directed from the front desk, adding a touch of authenticity to the concert. To dispense with a separate conductor can be a hazardous operation, but on this occasion, it worked well and there was a good sense of ensemble throughout the whole concert.
The opening item, Handel’s Concerto Grosso in D minor, got the concert off to a confident start with stylish playing which captured the spirit of the work.
Unfortunately, there was a hiatus at this point as the piano had to be manoeuvred into a central position on the stage and, in order to accommodate all the players, it was necessary to place the instrument with the keyboard facing the audience. This was not an ideal position: a solo pianist playing with his back to an audience does create a sense of distance between performer and listener. Nevertheless, visiting soloist, Cristo Harijan, gave a fluent performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A major K 414. conveying the changing moods and brilliance of this lovely work well; his playing was delicate and expressive and the orchestra supported him very effectively resulting in a very satisfying performance.
In the second half of the programme, the orchestra’s principal oboist, Anna Powell, gave us a very fine performance of Albinoni’s Oboe Concerto. This was rhythmically so alive with a beautiful sense of line in the lyrical slow movement with its long melodic phrases requiring firm breath control.
The concert ended with an assured performance of Mozart’s Symphony No. 29. Occasionally there were balance problems with the horns being too prominent, but the balance between upper and low strings worked well. This, again, was a stylish performance revealing the melodic charm and structural details of the piece clearly – and, of course, the excellent technical qualities of the pool of musicians who make up the Lakeland Sinfonia.
Clive Walkley
