Reviews 2011
Albert Hall Nottingham 27th November 2011
Most orchestras see an occasional turnover in members, but for a youth orchestra the process is unavoidable. As always, the independently run Nottingham Youth Orchestra fielded a number of new players in its first concert of the season, musicians stepping up from the intermediate and training ensembles that prepare them so well.
The evening opened with Brahms's humorous response to the award of a honorary doctorate: an overture pitching student songs into a symphonic edifice of impeccable build.Dvorak's Third Symphony, too, projects lyrical impulses through classical craft. Both scores were scrupulously realised under the direction of young Spanish maestro Jon Malaxetxebarria, making his second appearance with the NYO.
The next piece saw him on home ground - up to a point. In a modern reworking of The Night-time Withdrawal From Madrid, Italy's Luciano Berio wove enchanting orchestral textures out of different versions of Boccherini's transfigured tattoo.
The stormiest emotions were saved for Tchaikovsky's fantasy overture Romeo and Juliet. Dramatic climaxes packed a punch, and it was as though players and guest conductor had all been together for years.
Before the concert and during the interval, listeners were serenaded by members of Nottingham Youth Jazz Orchestra, who will figure in the NYO's Olympic bash at the Royal Concert Hall in March.
Peter Palmer - Nottingham Evening Post
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St. Mary's Church 30th July 2011
To bring off Rimsky-Korsakov's exotic Scheherazade suite, an orchestra needs special talents in every section. Prior to St Mary's, the NYO gave three concerts (two with expatriate violinist Daniel Bell playing Glazunov) at different locations in Berlin - and even the sternest of German judges must have been impressed.
Inspired by the Tales of the Arabian Nights, Rimsky painted an animated fresco of melody, rhythm and instrumental shadings. Images of Sindbad's ship, a prince among dervishes and a festival in Baghdad are evoked by various groups of players.
Leader Amanda Bruce linked the scenes with her captivating violin. The graceful interlude for a young royal couple produced real enchantment. In the final build-up to a reprise of the sultan's theme, the way that the ensemble sustained the momentum was thrilling to hear.
In the opening performance of Smetana's Vltava, Bohemian dances were deftly inserted into the changing flow of the river depicted. Under conductor Derek Williams's scrupulous guidance, movements from Grieg's Peer Gynt music were executed with poetry, pathos and gusto.
And Rachel Tooley and Christopher Hart played beautifully matched trumpets in a baroque concerto by Francesco Manfredini. Noble music-making all round.
Peter Palmer - Nottingham Evening Post
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Reviews 2010
Albert Hall 5th December - A Winter Concert
The Nottingham Youth Orchestra under conductor Derek Williams came up with the perfect antidote to the wintry weather: a programme of highly attractive music, and playing which radiated warmth and energy.
Wagner's Mastersingers Overture set the tone for the evening with its feel-good factor and its exuberant broad sweeps of melody. This is Wagner with a smile on his face, and the young musicians brought out the extrovert good humour of the piece.
Malcolm Arnold's English Dances requires some quick-fire mood-swings, from the delicate and pastoral to full-blooded energy; the Orchestra responded impressively, evidently enjoying the challenge.
Glazunov's Violin Concerto was a gem of a piece, full of lightness and warmth.Young soloist Sophie Rosa played with great poise and gave a beautifully eloquent account of her demanding part. The Orchestra provided a tapestry of colour.
Josef Suk's A Fairy Tale will have been a welcome discovery for many in the audience. The Youth Orchestra clearly loved it, and the world of princes, princesses, evil spells and true love finally triumphant came vividly to life. Suk's music is captivatingly rich and immediate, and the playing had a fluent confidence which made it hard to believe how young these musicians are.
Grahame Whitehead - Nottingham Evening Post
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Albert Hall 5th December - A Winter Concert
On a very snowy Sunday in December, at The Albert Hall, Nottingham , after months of rehearsals, the Nottingham Youth Orchestra opened its Winter Concert 2010 with the prelude to The Mastersingers . All of the orchestra's players went into full flow, weaving in and out of each other with utter radiance as Wagner's "great and joyful work" was played at its best. As NYO approached the middle of the piece the orchestra reached a majestic section, quieter, to add shape to the coming rousing end (finishing at the same volume and clarity as it started!). This dramatic yet stirring opening was carefully chosen to suit his orchestra according to Derek Williams, the NYO conductor, and it was a perfect introduction to the evening.
Next, changing the atmosphere entirely was English Dances by Malcolm Arnold. The first movement, Andantino, suggested a small stream flowing by, perhaps a soft breeze, and so as you can probably guess, this first movement started off softly. It began with delicate chords played by French horns and harp. After a few bars the melody was brought in by the pure sounding oboe. This was a romantic and idyllic piece.
The second section was more of a lively number, with tuned percussion playing the main tune. This brought more of a festival mood and also some joyful moments to English Dances.
The third movement consists of a beautiful and graceful bassoon solo, and creates a solemn atmosphere. Then the strings and the rest of the woodwind take over, as if telling a sad story between them.
In the final movement, Allegro risoluto , the brass played out and brought the piece of music to a brilliant end.
This year the Nottingham Youth Orchestra were privileged enough to have award winning soloist Sophie Rosa, join them. She played for us a spell-binding piece which was delivered in a very expressive manner. She was very well prepared for this extremely challenging piece, with a professionalism that you would have thought beyond her 22 years.
Finally, one of Josef Suk's earliest compositions, A Fairy Tale, enchanted us all. In true fairy tale form, the story told us of two lovers-a Prince Raduz and a Princess Mahulena-were confronted by a Queen with evil plans. Fortunately (not meaning to spoil the story) a happy ending is achieved. The violin soloist plays the part of Mahulena, whilst the brass plays the Queen when she is carrying out her evil deeds. The King's part is told in the Funeral March and the woodcutter's song is sung in the second movement: Vivance.
A Fairy Tale begins with a beautiful violin solo, played by Amanda Bruce, which represents Mahulena. It then moves on to the second movement: Folk dance that, as the name suggests, could be easily danced to, with quite an upbeat rhythm. Soon after, we move onto a sad and solemn section: Funeral Music. The final movement is the happy ending where the lovers are reunited. This song also included a stand-out clarinet solo. A great feature of this piece was that at the end it repeated the violin solo played at the beginning although coming towards the end of the movement the volume was raised with a striking finish.
With a very well chosen and rehearsed programme, talented soloists, a passionate conductor, the winter Concert did not disappoint me, even though I now have very high expectations of the Nottingham Youth Orchestra!
Anya Aujla Jones - Freelance Reporter - Minster School Southwell
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St. Mary's Church 30th July - Post Normandy Tour Concert
Former NYO member James Lowe, now featuring in a Channel 4 documentary, has spoken of discovering the music behind the notes. And that was something this year's orchestra repeatedly achieved under Derek Williams at their concert in the Lace Market.
They opened with the spooky frolics of Mussorgsky's Night on a Bare Mountain - a test of the full ensemble which was passed with panache.
Brass and percussion enjoyed the limelight in a stirring pavane by 20th-century composer Vaclav Nelhybel, before the cor anglais took centre stage in the atmospheric tone painting of Debussy's Nuages.
Directed by Michael Palin, Richard Strauss' youthful Serenade in E flat brought out the lyrical best in woodwinds and horns. And there was no mistaking the ardour underlying the Adagietto for strings and harp from Mahler's Fifth Symphony.
It was to Normandy that the NYO made their first trip overseas, back in 1988. And their return there this year prompted the showcasing of several French composers. Fergal Duggan played glittering saxophone solos in the Latin-American ambience of Darius Milhaud's Scaramouche.
Saint-Saëns was as French as they come, even though his famous Organ Symphony had its premiere in late-Victorian London. The orchestra blended admirably with John Keys at the Marcussen organ, mixing poetry and drama to gripping effect.
Leader Anna Redgate received a well-deserved farewell present before the exhilarating encore - Debussy's Fêtes. These musicians are among Nottingham's finest ambassadors abroad.
Peter Palmer - Nottingham Evening Post
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Albert Hall 24th April - A Russian Spectacular
There were several reminders on Saturday night of just how much talent is packed into the NYO. First and foremost was the playing of the orchestra: warmly expressive and tight in ensemble. Then there was conductor James Lowe - not only his energy, insight and concern for detail but also what he represents: a professional musician whose membership of the NYO as a teenager did so much to inspire him. And then there was pianist Tristan Melen, former NYO percussionist, first-class Cambridge mathematician and now brilliant soloist in Rachmaninov's 2nd Concerto. This high concentration of youthful talent and potential was both moving and invigorating.
Conductor and pianist were at one in their vision of the Rachmaninov concerto. From the soloist's opening chords one sensed that the work was in safe hands and this proved to be true. This was not just a technically assured performance, however. This concerto would be high on anyone's list of the most poignant, romantic and yearning music ever written - and it was played with all the full-blooded passion one could have wished for.
In this all-Russian programme the NYO also performed Rimsky-Korsakov's atmospheric Russian Easter Festival Overture (offering plenty of opportunities for individual players to shine) as well as Prokofiev's little-played and delightfully quirky last Symphony which spins rather dizzyingly from pain to nostalgia, from bitter-sweet waltzes to merry galops. For it to work it needs orchestral virtuosity and a conductor fully in tune with the composer's mercurial personality. It received both on Saturday.
William Ruff - Nottingham Evening Post
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Albert Hall 24th April - A Russian Spectacular
"Thank you for taking me to see the NYO. I really enjoyed it, my favourite part was the piano soloist's piece in the middle........"
Rachel Haslam - Aged 10, Cotgrave.
(Rachel attended the concert with neighbour and friend Mrs P. Thomas).
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Royal Concert Hall 27th Feb - Time Machine - A Musical Journey
NYO went on a Time Machine Musical Journey on Saturday night. Of course, all classical concerts are trips backwards and forwards in musical time - so was this any different? You bet it was!
Ron Grainger's Doctor Who Theme popped up from time to time, in a variety of guises, speeding us on our adventure. Then there was conductor Derek Williams' light sabre trick (lights out, Skywalker weapon wielded aloft and then all the lights back on when Strauss's famous Zarathustra theme crashes to a conclusion).
The balance of the programme was cleverly entertaining: Handel's Zadok,; Tchaikovsky's 1812 (with choir and explosions); Coates' Dam Busters; Respighi's Roman Pines; the opening of Carmina Burana. And from the world of musicals: massed choirs plus brilliant soloists Oliver Metcalfe and Abigail Broughton sang excerpts from Les Miserables and Chicago.
As well as musical energy and expertise there was about this concert an exhilarating sense of spontaneity. To pull so many young people together and to cram in so many musical numbers into limited rehearsal time must be a huge challenge - but once again Maestro Williams and his myriad coaches, organisers and performers not only travelled through time but performed several miracles along the way.
William Ruff - Nottingham Evening Post
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Royal Concert Hall 27th Feb - Time Machine - A Musical Journey
Pitch black. What is that red glow? A low rumble of laughter travels through the orchestra. Oh, it must be the conductor's baton impersonating a light-sabre! Derek Williams signals the expectant musicians to order. Lights flash on. And that is when a memorable musical journey began. This was the celebratory performance marking 25 years of the Nottingham Youth Orchestra!
The orchestra, full to the brim with extraordinary talented young musicians, set a wonderful example of what all Orchestras should be like. We travelled through time with the Doctor Who theme, Handel's Zadok, 1812 overture (with canons!), The Dam Busters theme, Respighi's Roman Pines and part of Carmina Burana. The Orchestra also performed with a fantastic choir. The incredible soloists Oliver Metcalfe and Abigail Broughton sang songs from the musicals Les Miserables and Chicago.
And I can't forget NYJO (Nottingham Youth Jazz Orchestra)! The "Get your feet tapping" Band produced some great numbers from Chicago , with the soloist Oliver Metcalfe singing a different genre of music completely.
In both of the performances I have seen, Fright night last year and the recent Time Machine, the youthfulness and exuberance mixed with talent and keenness of the musicians made them brilliant nights out. All of the pieces, in both of the concerts, including their arrangement and the performance made this a show as much as a concert. If you can get a ticket for the next concert, with its Russian theme, it is sure to be a fabulous evening.
Anya Aujla Jones - Freelance Reporter - Minster School Southwell
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Royal Concert Hall 27th Feb - Time Machine - A Musical Journey
Thank you so much for your great concert. I really enjoyed the saxophones and the loud bangs.
I play the clarinet and I hope that one day I will be good enough to play in an orchestra like yours!
Gabrielle Saperia (aged 10)
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Reviews 2009
Albert Hall 29th November - An American Extravaganza
The Nottingham Youth Orchestra under Derek Williams was in sparkling form for this evening of 20th-century American classics. Playing a programme of Gershwin and Bernstein is not for the faint-hearted, but these young players made light work of the challenge, their unflagging energy coupled with a keen sense for the intricate rhythms of the pieces and a level of musicianship well beyond their years.
The Symphonic Picture from Porgy and Bess set the tone, with the Orchestra's confident, mature sound equally comfortable in the unhurried atmospheric opening, the tenderness of Summertime and the boisterous conclusion.
Rhapsody in Blue was charged with restless energy, offset by moments of lyrical intensity. Piano soloist Clare Hammond's playing was exquisitely supple and full of expression.
Bernstein's Prelude, Fugue and Riffs provided an impressive showcase for the exciting, technically superb playing of the Nottingham Youth Jazz Orchestra under Phil Smith.
In Bernstein's Candide Overture the Orchestra played with sparkle and a light touch, revelling in the big, sweeping melody. The Symphonic Dances from West Side Story were full of excitement and vivid drama, elemental outpourings of energy juxtaposed with the tender longing of Somewhere.
Grahame Whitehead - Nottingham Evening Post.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ St. Mary's Church 31st July - Post Tour Concert
Nottingham Youth Orchestra have been soaking up the spirit of the Viennese classics at first hand, with concerts in a famous Austrian palace and cathedral.
They brought back several musical souvenirs of their trip, from Franz von Suppé's Poet and Peasant overture to the lilting rhythms of Johann Strauss.
Helen Ray-Jones, Patrick Dickinson, Fergal Duggan and Jamie Hammond were the accomplished wind soloists in a Sinfonia Concertante consigned to the appendix of the Mozart catalogue.
Mozart composed it for some of the finest players of his day, concluding with variations that showcased the oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn both singly and also in euphonious partnership.
Amid the collective high jinks of the Suppé overture, the principal cello played a poetic individual role.
The concert also featured the delicate "Blumine" movement which Mahler discarded from his First Symphony. Benjamin Britten thought it too good for the dustbin; the NYO endorsed his view under conductor Derek Williams' direction.
The second half began with the lively contrasts of Four Cornish Dances by Sir Malcolm Arnold. Shostakovich's mercurial Ninth Symphony tested the admirable resource of the orchestra on a broader scale.
Peter Palmer - Nottingham Evening Post.
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Albert Hall 25th April - A Night at the Opera
When shoe horned into an orchestra pit, players tend to be starved of the limelight. For once, the NYO and their singers shared an opera platform on equal terms. This medley tested their versatility - and they came through with flying colours. On their own, the orchestra evoked the mostly regional styles of dances by Verdi, Bizet, Smetana and Borodin. Conducted by Derek Williams, they also distilled the essence of the Intermezzo from Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci and the exhilarating Prelude to Act 3 of Lohengrin.
All the singers used to perform in the NYO. Zoe Brown introduced herself fetchingly with Siebel's flower aria from Gounod's Faust.
Not to be outdone by Marcus Farnsworth's virile Count Almaviva, Geoff Williams pinched from the baritone locker the costume of Mozart's Don Giovanni.
The part of Olympia in Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann was wittily embodied by Anna Snow. Later, the quartet combined sweetly in Mir ist so wunderbar from Beethoven's Fidelio.
And soprano Elisabeth Meister switched on the fireworks, recreating Wagner's Elisabeth and Bizet's Carmen before electrifying the house with In Questa Reggia from Puccini's opera Turandot.
Peter Palmer - Nottingham Evening Post.
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Royal Concert Hall 28th Feb - Fright Night
DESPITE the date, this turned out to be the biggest and spookiest Hallowe'en party you could imagine. There was lots of creepy music, of course, but there was so much more to tingle the spine: ghouls on the stairs, vampire-like conductors, ghastly graveyard noises, images of blood-stained shower curtains and dancing skeletons. The NYO does not do things by halves.
The orchestra had chosen some fiendish (in all senses of the word) music, Berlioz' March to the Scaffold and Witches' Sabbath, Grieg's Hall of the Mountain King, Mars from The Planets and the tormented theme from Psycho were all played with relish and expertise under conductor Derek Williams. Joining them were pianist Murray McLachlan, the diabolically virtuosic soloist in Liszt's Totentanz, and the brilliantly dynamic members of Nottingham Youth Dance.
Then it was the turn of Mike Palin to conduct numbers from Phantom of the Opera and Sweeney Todd, both of which featured highly impressive solo singing and acting talent as well as a chorus that packed a powerful punch.
Holding all this together was multi-talented singer, actor and ghostly story-teller Simon Theobald,
William Ruff - Nottingham Evening Post.
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Royal Concert Hall 28th Feb - Fright Night
What a treat! A musical event performed by the very talented young musicians of the Nottingham Youth Orchestra. Supported by both drama and dance students with pieces chosen with the theme of fear, the performers gave a bone chilling performance of pieces from Pictures from the Exhibition, Phantom of the Opera and Sweeney Todd Demon Barber of Fleet street amongst others.
It was also thrilling seeing a fully fledged orchestra before my very eyes. The difference between these committed, dedicated young artists, and teenagers on Nottingham streets at night, shows the huge importance of studying, and learning D.A.R.E. It is not hard to choose what I would rather do. I would most definitely want to play and practice in an orchestra.
A wonderful experience.
Live music is great!
Anya Aujla-Jones - The Wong and Only (The newspaper of Lowes Wong Junior School Southwell).
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Reviews 2008
Albert Hall 30th. November
A SURE-FIRE way of turning winter mist and murk into bright Mediterranean sunshine on Sunday night was to bask in the warm glow of the NYO.
The music-making was so vividly colourful that you almost needed sun-glasses to listen to it.
Respighi's Fountains of Rome is one of the great orchestral showpieces, its effects so mercurial and kaleidoscopic that every player is pushed to his or her limits. The fact that the youngsters of the NYO negotiated the complexities of Respighi's Fountains of Rome with such apparent ease is a credit to them and conductor Derek Williams.
Kodaly's Hary Janos suite - complete with Hungarian cimbalom - was similarly vivid. The spectacular introductory orchestral 'sneeze' ushered in much memorable playing, including splendidly fruity contributions from the trombones in the battlefield movement.
Yasmin Rowe was the soloist in Dohnanyi's Variations on a Nursery Theme - and a very witty, glittering performance it was too.
William Ruff - Nottingham Evening Post.
St. Mary's Church 1st. August
One youthful listener wondered if there would be ice cream in the interval. Disappointment there, perhaps, but otherwise Friday's concert had everything. It followed the NYO's summer tour (this year to Italy), which enables players to bond in a way that occasional concerts can't really do.
And any stranger chancing upon their incisive performance of Tchaikovsky's Pathétique Symphony could have taken them for pros, not least because the large string ensemble was one of their best ever. Under conductor Derek Williams, the symphony's volatile substance was just kept in check. The delicacy of the waltz-like Allegro con grazia provided some respite from the dramatic upheavals.
Earlier, the NYO offered a firework display of orchestral colours. Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel overture, with its beguiling scene painting, preceded the courtly dances from Britten's Elizabethan opera, Gloriana. In Manuel de Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain, 14-year-old guest pianist Mary Ann Wootton showed a flair and assurance that belied her age.
Peter Palmer - Nottingham Evening Post.
Royal Concert Hall 3rd. March
Some people would say a three-hour concert - even if it is celebrating "The Best of British" - is too much of a good thing. But those who drifted out towards the end missed a major landmark in the NYO's distinguished history, when jazz legend Sir John Dankworth took to the stage and challenged the young players to improvise with him. It brought the house down.
He was there for the world premiere of his Jazz Concerto, commissioned by the NYO and played by top jazz violinist Christian Garrick whose breathtaking ability to improvise was married to the exciting melodic and rhythmic ideas supplied by the composer.
Conductor Derek Williams directed no fewer than 16 other pieces ranging from Elgar, Holst, Parry, Walton and Addinsell (with Enpei Qu as brilliant soloist in the Warsaw Concerto) to The Beatles and Queen. About 250 musicians were crammed on to the stage, including a mass choir. Their size was not always enough to penetrate the enormous sound created by the NYO but they shone in works by Karl Jenkins, and their version of Bohemian Rhapsody (soloist Oliver Metcalfe) was certainly a crowd-pleaser.
Audience comment:
What an excellent concert. Our 10yr old daughter thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it as did myself and my wife. The NYO performed excellently and didn't seem at all overawed to be playing with the Jazz maestros. John Dankworth and Christian Garrick's evident enjoyment at jamming with the youngsters was a real highlight and a great encouragement for the young musicians. If you missed it you missed a treat. Gareth Dickens, Aspley
Southwell Minster 28th. April
Just when you think that the NYO cannot possibly top their previous astonishing performances, along comes another concert which leaves their audience open-mouthed.
The long silence which conductor James Lowe maintained after the mystical end of Vaughan Williams' London Symphony was just one example of the emotional commitment he expected.
In Dvorak's The Noon Witch there was a similar concentration on the drama of the narrative and on vividly conveying the musical imagery. The NYO also took in their stride the structural complexities of Concentricity, a brilliant new work. The name of violinist Jian Ren, 15, is one to look out for. There can be very few soloists of his age who have managed to impress with such technical assurance and emotional maturity.
William Ruff.
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Reviews 2007
St Mary's, Friday 29th. July
Post Tour Concert - Variety and bit of spice
A wise conductor will only select Rossini's William Tell Overture when he had a first- rate cello section. The NYO cellos provided the richly atmospheric opening to Friday's concert in the lace market.
Solo flute and cor anglais sketched a Swiss idyll before the trumpet call to military action and the spring-heeled cavalry charge.
A first half of extraordinary variety next visited the Highlands of Malcolm Arnold's Scottish Dances. Here the second movement's tipsily sauntering bassoon stole the show - to the extent of repeating the feat later on.
Delicately supported by the orchestra, principal cellist Hannah Edmonds revelled in the Romantic passion of Max Bruch's Kol Nidrei.
A French offering had profited by the NYO's visit to Paris . Among other delights the saxophone added spice to extracts from Bizet's incidental music for "L'Arlésienne". In their whirlwind finale, the ensemble maintained a great sense of rhythm.
The main demand for Sibelius' dramatic Fifth Symphony is concerted interplay of the greatest cohesion. In-depth preparation made this one of the orchestra's most impressive performances to date under the baton of Derek Williams
Peter Palmer (Nottingham Evening Post)
3rd March
Royal Concert Hall
From Gone with the Wind and The Great Escape through to Pirates of the Carribean and Gladiator, this concert of well-known film music struck exactly the right chord with performers and audience alike.
Derek Williams drew some superb playing from the members of the Youth Orchestra, their full-blooded vitality matched by excellent control to produce an exciting sound which also had depth. They revelled in the drama and energy of John Williams' Star Wars theme and the medley of John Barry's James Bond music but exuberance was always coupled with discipline and precision.
The chorus of some 170 pupils from local primary and secondary schools rose well to the challenge of parts which ranged from a Disney medley to Vois sur ton Chemin from Les Choristes and Orff's O Fortuna from Carmina Curana.
With almost 250 young people performing and with two pieces on the programme by recent orchestra member Luke Freeman, the evening was a striking celebration of the musical talent and energy of the young. Simon Theobald, standing in at short notice was an informative and effective compère.
Grahame Whitehead (Nottingham Evening Post)
3rd March
On 3rd March NYO ran a string chamber day with some terrific input from members of "Pro Corda". The four guest tutors were led by Ioan Davies who used to be the cellist in the internationally known Fitzwilliam String Quartet. The kids students took part in workshops on improvisation, ensemble/quartet playing, and eurythmics. a short performance was held at the end of the day and all had a great time. Click here to see some photos.
Busking
Perhaps not strictly classed as concerts but each year members of all three orchestras get togther to 'busk' at various venues during the month of December. All the old Christmas favourites get played and money raised to support the orchestra!
For more information on our December 2007 busking activities and to see some photographs click here.
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Reviews 2006
Not strictly a concert but click here for details of December 2006 Busking efforts when members raised over £1600 for Orchestra funds.
6th December - Albert Hall
A FEAST OF EASTERN EUROPEAN MUSIC
Russia and Bohemia were the source of the music presented by the Nottingham Youth Orchestra under Derek Williams on Sunday.
In Shostakovich's Festive Overture the NYO brought out the wit and merriment of his instrumentation in a performance that was notable for the balance of the sound.
Khachaturian's three pieces from Gayane contain some familiar tunes and the well-known Sabre Dance. The bright and bouncy first piece was full of the composer's favourite scoring and rhythmic devices; the second had an Eastern feel, with plangent oboe sound prominent. The Sabre Dance had all the brio anyone could want.
Rachmaninov often made the piano sound, on its own, like an orchestra. Add the orchestra itself, as in the second piano concerto, and you have a uniquely majestic sound. Tom Poster and Derek Williams demonstrated enviable rapport in a sensitive and passionate performance, from the opening piano chords to the tender second theme of the first movement and the powerful recapitulation of the first theme. The second movement brought well-nuanced clarinet playing and a dramatic pause in the cadenza. Altogether, a memorable performance by a superb soloist and an enthusiastic orchestra. Dvorak's New World Symphony brought the concert to a close.
Colin Wolfe
29th April - Southwell Minster
Nottingham Youth Orchestra has produced its fair share of professional players. Now it has also produced an established conductor in James Lowe.
The NYO committee must surely want to ask him back after this guest appearance.
How many Italianisms are there in Capricco Italien? Nobody knows. Undisputed though, is the piece's status as a caprice, and Tchaikovsky's mercurial rhythms were neatly observed.
The Poeme for violin and orchestra is not a staple of the concert repertoire, so all credit to the NYO for staging Ernest Chausson's evocative piece. It had a small soloist with a big heart - and a big tone - in Canadian-trained Eugene Nakamura.
Nature sweeps through Sibelius's orchestral writing. In the First Symphony, Lowe allowed the music time to breathe.
The spaciousness was united with dramatic tension with every orchestral section in top form.
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Reviews 2005
4th September 2005 - Royal Concert Hall
This Nottingham Orchestra comeback concert was wonderful in so many ways and was so much more than just the music, inspiring though that was.
Gathered together were former members of the orchestra together with their families and friends, many meeting up for the first time in years.
Conductor Derek Williams was in his element, coaxing some lovely ensemble playing from his forces
Highlights included Britten's Young Person's Guide, Malcolm Arnold's Peterloo Overture and two movements from The Planets.
The evening's soloist was Chloe Hanslip. She may only be 17 but she is still one of the world's super-virtuose violinists, playing both Waxman's Carmen Fanyasy and Ravel's Tzigane to breath taking effect.
How do you end a concert with so much brilliance on display? Well, why not play The Dam Busters March and 688 Squadron really fast and loud? And you bet it worked. Not only did the audience stand and cheer but the players got a tad emotional too. What an evening...Here's to the next 20 years.
William Ruff (Nottingham Evening Post)
String Quartet Coaching Day 24th April 2005
Derek and Trevor (our first violin tutor) are great fans of quartet playing. Apart from the fact that the greatest music ever written was for string quartet (Beethoven’s late quartets, of course), they are a wonderful way of learning to play with a small group of other people. If you’re a string player in a large orchestra, it often seems that you’re not very important — after all if there are 31 other violins, what difference can you possibly make? Unlike wind and brass players, who are always soloists, even in a symphony orchestra, string players get very nervous if they have to play by themselves without the support of their section. In a quartet, however, there is no hiding place; all four players are equally important.
The experience of taking part in and even performing chamber music can really boost players’ self-confidence — at least that what we’re hoping will happen after our quartet coaching day last month. To do the coaching we were lucky to have South African viola player Louise Lansdown, a tutor from the Royal Northern College of Music, who had previously worked with the orchestra at our RNCM workshop day in October. She brought with her five other young South African players, who together make up the Mzanze Ensemble. Ten groups from NYO spent a day practising works by Mozart, Haydn, Brahms, Beethoven, Borodin and Dvorak, helped by the Mzanze Ensemble with support from our own staff Derek, Trevor, Paul and Sian. At the end of the afternoon we were joined by parents for a short informal concert by six of the groups who were brave enough to perform (and performing quartets is one of the most scary things a string player can do!). As a surprise finale, he Mzanze played a movement from the Brahms Sextet in B flat. Then they put away their music and stands to thrill us all with two pieces of African or “Kwela” music arranged by their leader Samson Diamond. It was a great end to an exciting day. And well done to all the NYO quartets who performed so well.
16th April 2005 - Southwell Minster
The NYO's taste for adventure shows no signs of fading. Every year, its members are not only invited to show off their talent and commitment by playing the familiar classics of the repertoire but to stride off down unfamiliar routes as well.
This time it was the turn of English composer Percy Whitlock to be dusted off and given an airing. His
Organ Symphony (written 1936-7) is a rarity which calls for virtuosity from soloist and orchestra alike. Organist John Keys coaxed an alluring range of tonal colour from the Minister's instrument - matched by full-blooded playing from his youthful colleagues and their conductor Derek Williams. But was the piece worth reviving? My own opinion: Whitlock was essentially a miniaturist whose 'symphony' might have sounded more coherent if it had been half the length.
We were on much firmer ground with Malcolm Arnold's richly colourful English Dances (lots of strong contrasts: rhythmic bounce and yearning nostalgia in quick succession) and with Elgar's Enigma Variations, Elgar demands tight discipline and draws on a huge palette of sounds as the music captures widely disparate characters. The NYO had all the flexibility one could ask for - as well as reserving extra energy for the ebullient finale.
Coate's Knightsbridge March came as a very jolly (and welcome) encore.
William Ruff (Nottingham Evening Post)
27th February 2005 - Royal Concert Hall
What a pity Grieg never attempted a Peer Gynt opera. Last night's uncut and uncensored performance of the incidental music he wrote for Peer Gynt left one avid for more. Especially as sung by the NYO's principal guest vocalists: Stephen Williams as Peer Gynt, Samantha Hay as Solveig and Anthea Kempston as exotic dancer Anitra. Prefaced by an unaccompanied choral hymn, Solveig's cradle song was an intensely moving finale.
The two Peer Gynt suites for orchestra are fine in their way. But they miss some of the heartache and all of the stormy and raunchy elements in this Nordic epic. Narrator Simon Callow filled us in on the main events of Henrik Ibsen's drama. His enthusiasm was a major asset. Elizabeth Bruce, Elizabeth Hetherington and Dawn Foxall sang alluringly as herd girls. The graceful Becky Dunning performed most of the dances. From aloft in the choir stalls, members of Nottingham High School, Nottingham Girls' High School and the Bluecoat School added a whiff of pure mountain air. Well chosen projections and surtitles complemented the action. Under the guidance of conductor Derek Williams, the orchestra were undoubted co-stars, as was solo violinist Michelle Taylor in the role of folk fiddler.
Works by Sibelius took up the first part of the concert. There's a point in Finlandia where you feel the music ought to break into song. Well, thanks to the combined choirs it did, and quite poetically, too. In Sibelius's Violin Concerto, indisposed soloist Chloe Hanslip was replaced by another teenager, the Russian-born Alina Ibragimova. Her Slav temperament seemed wholly suited to the score's light and shade. The orchestra's horn section stood out for its soft playing. The Royal Concert Hall, you felt, was built for just such adventures as this NYO 20th anniversary concert.
Peter Palmer
