In its new guise as Chromatica Orchestra, the former Bath Festival Orchestra burst back into life at the cavernous Battersea Arts Centre, with a programme showcasing the dynamism and breadth of its early career musicians. There was a loose tie between the works on offer as statements of nationalism in the face of an impending threat of war, but the orchestra displayed an impressive range of emotional and technical abilities.
Hurtling straight in with Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, Chromatica placed the three trumpets heralding the start of the piece up in the gallery – an evocative touch that worked well with the sonorous percussion on the vast stage. Under the sharp conducting of Charlotte Politi, one of Chromatica’s Emerging Conductor Fellows for this year, the orchestra competently handled both the clarity of the opening section and the largesse of the ensuing wall of sound.
A short section of the programme was dedicated to a collaboration with a group of secondary school pupils at Stratford’s Bobby Moore Academy, complete with xylophones and electric guitars, showing impressive control of dynamics in Elgar’s Nursery Suite and delivering a lively, pacy rendition of Saint-Saëns’ Aquarium from The Carnival of the Animals.
Taking on Samuel Barber’s elegiac Violin Concerto of 1940, Latvian violinist Kristīne Balanas performed with fierce virtuosity, showing both elegance and drama through the lyrical movements and into the fast-paced fingerwork of the frenzied Scherzo. Chromatica gave a sumptuous and mournful accompaniment, with some particularly impressive oboe solos.
Prokofiev’s 1932 Sonata for Two Violins in C major built on the foundations laid by Balanas in Barber, bringing her together with Dutch-American violinist Maren Bosma, who is leading the orchestra and Associate Artistic Director to Founding Artistic Director Peter Manning. The two lit up the stage in a duet that ranged strikingly from light dance to fiery duel.
Stepping in for Georgian mezzo-soprano Natalia Kutateladze, Poland’s Hanna Hipp took to the stage with the flamenco-inspired El amor brujo by Manuel de Falla in a hugely atmospheric rendition of a gypsy’s attempt to exorcise the ghost of her jealous ex-husband over the course of a night. Hipp imbued her lower range with sultriness and rage, moving powerfully through the emotive phrasing. The Danza ritual del fuego delivered particular punch.
Rounding off with a Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman by Joan Tower, Chromatica showed a playfulness and sense of adventure that pervaded throughout the night. This is clearly not an orchestra to stick to one genre. The orchestra looks set to continue its varied repertoire this season, with events ranging from an Armistice Day tribute to a family performance of Carnival des Animaux. Whatever is in store after that, it is sure to be vibrant and memorable.
