If music be the food of love, play on Chineke!

By Alexander Hall, 24 February 2020

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“by turns weighty and incisive, creating waves of infectious propulsion”

Reviewed at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 23 February 2020

Coleridge-Taylor, Othello, suite for orchestra, Op.79

Bruch, Violin Concerto no. 1 in G minor, Op.26

Beethoven, Symphony no. 7 in A major, Op.92

Coleridge-Taylor, Ballade for orchestra in A minor, Op.33

Tai Murray, Violin

Chineke! Orchestra

Fawzi Haimor, Conductor

Collaboration, innovation and defiance: Chineke! at the BBC Proms

Eleanor Knight, 5th September

Jonathon Heyward steps in to conduct Chineke! in two UK premieres and Shostakovich's rip-roaring Tenth Symphony.

****1

Chineke! gives world premiere of Joan Armatrading's First Symphony

Alexander Hall, 24th November

Chineke! Orchestra likes to do things differently and this concert, conducted by Andrew Grams, pairs symphonies by Tchaikovsky and the singer-songwriter-guitarist Armatrading.

***11

A mixed bag of treats from Chineke! at the BBC Proms

Alexander Hall, 1st September

No hard hitters or big beasts in this colourful potpourri from the remarkable Chineke! Orchestra, conducted by Anthony Parnther, but a chance to savour both the unknown and the familiar.

****1

Bold, brash and Bacchic: Chineke! Orchestra undimmed as ever

Alexander Hall, 25th February

The Chineke! Orchestra always aims at mixing the old and familiar (Beethoven, Ravel) with lesser-known corners of the repertory (Coleridge-Taylor, Walker). Anthony Parnther conducts with Kenneth Thompkins as soloist.

***11

Kalena Bovell conducts Chineke! in inspired performance of Hailstork

Timothy Robson, 14th December

The excellent program opened with Coleridge Taylor's Ballade and also included favorites by Haydn and Dvořák.

***11

Black legacies explored by Chineke! at the Royal Festival Hall

Mark Pullinger, 19th October

Chineke! Orchestra returns to the Royal Festival Hall with a programme that explores the legacy of black composers, as well as marking Beethoven's 250th anniversary.

***11

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Alexander Hall

Alexander Hall divides his time between London and Hamburg, where he had a career in academic administration and teaching. He reviews for Bachtrack and Opera Today, and has also reviewed for Classical Source. A connoisseur of the great orchestras of the world, his musical memories stretch back to Karajan/Berlin Phil, Mravinsky/Leningrad Phil, Bernstein/Vienna Phil, and he has seen most of the great conductors from the past, including Böhm, Klemperer, Kubelik, Ormandy and Szell.