A Christmas carol: Christmas with Sir James Galway and the Orchestra of St John's

Wednesday night’s concert was the first in the Orchestra of St John’s Proms at the Ashmolean series of the new year. John Lubbock led the orchestra, the OSJ Ashmolean Voices and soloists Johnny Herford and Louise Wayman through lively performances of Handel’s Apollo e Dafne and J.S. Bach’s Liebster Jesu, mein Verlagen.

Frank Bridge, his pupil Benjamin Britten, and Ralph Vaughan Williams: three composers defined by their role in steering English music into the twentieth century. With Britten’s centenary approaching in 2013, Kings Place’s two-concert series of English string music was a timely reminder of the musical imagination that flourished in this country at the turn of the twentieth century.

Wednesday night’s concert was the first in the Orchestra of St John’s Proms at the Ashmolean series of the new year. John Lubbock led the orchestra, the OSJ Ashmolean Voices and soloists Johnny Herford and Louise Wayman through lively performances of Handel’s Apollo e Dafne and J.S. Bach’s Liebster Jesu, mein Verlagen.

Frank Bridge, his pupil Benjamin Britten, and Ralph Vaughan Williams: three composers defined by their role in steering English music into the twentieth century. With Britten’s centenary approaching in 2013, Kings Place’s two-concert series of English string music was a timely reminder of the musical imagination that flourished in this country at the turn of the twentieth century.

Sir James Galway supported by the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, performs flawless Mozart flute concerto in D. Sir James Galway and Lady Jeanne Galway also delivers delightful Cimarosa in a historic performance. 

It is a cliché in music commentary to say that youth orchestras bring vitality, fearlessness and chutzpah to the programmes that they play. But as with most clichés, it does appear to be based in truth, and that is perhaps one reason why the BBC Proms continue to give such support to young players as well as young composers.