Bath Festival Orchestra inspires the next generation at Cadogan Hall

Bath Festival Orchestra

By Nick Boston, 09 June 2023

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“managing the complexities of Tippett's writing with accuracy and precision”

Reviewed at Cadogan Hall, London on 8 June 2023

Britten, Serenade for tenor, horn and strings, song cycle, Op.31

Corelli, Concerto grosso in F major, Op.6 no.2

Tippett, Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli

Britten, Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge for string orchestra, Op.10

Robin Tritschler, Tenor

Ben Goldscheider, French horn

Bath Festival Orchestra

Peter Manning, Conductor

Students from the Bobby Moore Academy

Kurtág's Kafka Fragments staged at the Linbury Studio Theatre

Paul Kilbey, 28th March

“The moonlit night dazzled us. Birds shrieked in the trees. There was a rush of wind in the fields. We crawled through the dust, a pair of snakes.”Maybe the pair of snakes is Franz Kafka, the author, and György Kurtág, the composer who set this short passage (along with 39 others by Kafka) to music.

***11

Paradise Deferred: Shelley takes on Schumann’s Paradies und die Peri

Andrew Larkin, 13th February

Alexander Shelley tackles Schumann’s sprawling Das Paradies und die Peri with conviction, shaping real momentum and drama, even if balance issues and Thomas Moore’s cloying libretto sometimes distract.

***11

Mixed results from Dalia Stasevska's trio of 20th-century works

David Truslove, 12th March

Seldom heard and standard repertoire bring mixed results from Dalia Stasevska, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Symphony Chorus.

***11

Václav Luks conducts a sprightly Christmas Oratorio

David Smythe, 28th November

A month early, perhaps, but Václav Luks conducts the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus in Bach's joyful celebration of the Christmas story.

****1

Intuitive gifts: Stutzmann unlocks the secrets of late Bruckner

Peter Quantrill, 11th February

The Ninth forms a satisfying sequel to the conductor's mastery of the Seventh, marked by rhythmic spring and sonic splendour.

****1

Pre-Christmas delights from the BBC SO

Alexander Hall, 3rd December

With Advent in full swing, and as 2021 draws to a close, it is comforting to be reminded of seasonal rituals expressed through the power of music: Sibelius, Finzi and Britten with BBC SO forces under Oramo.

****1

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Nick Boston

Nick has an MA in Music, specialising in performance and repertoire. His particular passions are choral music, chamber music and opera, with a particular interest in early music. He sings in a number of choirs in the south east of England, plays the piano and occasionally dusts off the violin. He writes about music here.