Buscador de artículos | Jeremy Morris

Last night’s concert in the Usher Hall contained so many different strands, that it defies simple categorisation. One of a series of nine concerts in Scotland, its first objective was clearly to promote Miss Benedetti’s latest CD, The Silver Violin. This recording features tributes to many of the great composers who wrote film music for the silver screen, hence the title.

There is nothing quite like an all-Beethoven programme for filling a large concert hall. Last night’s offering from the RSNO in Edinburgh’s Usher Hall was ample proof of this, with hardly a spare seat anywhere in the house.

Some of the best chamber concerts in Edinburgh are put on by the New Town Concerts Society. They feature performances by famous groups and also afford younger, less well-known ensembles an opportunity to reach a wider audience. The Heath Quartet falls somewhere between these categories, as they have been steadily gaining in recognition over the last five years or so.

Under the baton of Christian Kluxen, their young Danish Assistant Conductor, there was a distinctly Scandinavian flavour to the RSNO’s concert on Friday evening. While not sold out, the Usher Hall was reassuringly full, the audience no doubt drawn by the familiar names on the programme as well as undeterred by the novelties.

“Royal Albert Hall / Barbican / Usher Hall (delete as necessary) sold out for Sunday morning concert.” How likely is this headline in response to a normal, mid-season concert in Britain? For Hamburg, it is perfectly normal, and the crowds that thronged the Laeiszhalle, young and old, chic and casual, were not to be disappointed.

The Budapest Festival Orchestra has played in Edinburgh before to great critical acclaim. Consequently, it was only to be expected that their concert last Sunday would be well attended, despite a late change of soloist. In fact, it was a virtual sell-out and we were not disappointed.

One of the delights of instrumental recitals is their unpredictability. There is an element of challenge that all types have in common, however.

The current flagship project of the London Symphony Orchestra is to take on tour a series of concerts, under their Principal Conductor, which unite the symphonies and other major works of Brahms and Szymanowski. It is bold and imaginative, while remaining accessible and appealing.

While there is a rich and varied literature for piano trio, works of quality that are composed purely for string trio (violin, viola and cello) are thin on the ground. Trio Zimmermann gave us a rare opportunity to hear some of the absolute gems from the repertoire this morning in a packed Queen's Hall in Edinburgh.

In this, the last of his farewell programmes, Stéphane Denève bade au revoir to Edinburgh in front of an audience of the great and the good, containing ambassadors, diplomats and ministers as well as all his Edinburgh fans. There were speeches, presentations and more than a touch of the Hollywood Academy Awards Ceremony. “But what about the music?” I hear you ask.

There is something delightfully non-prescriptive about the word “ensemble”, admitting of many combinations of performers and types of music. It was this notion of flexibility that came to the fore in Friday night’s concert in the Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh.

How do you like your Baroque? Extreme – all gut strings and not a chin-rest in sight? Or mid-twentieth century – molto vibrato with saxophone obbligato? There is, of course, a half way house, and in last night’s packed Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh, the SCO steered firmly towards it, producing several agreeable surprises along the way.