Thursday, November 28, 2013

Milton Keynes Sinfonia concert

28 November 2013

On Saturday I took part in a concert with Milton Keynes Sinfonia which celebrated the centenary of the birth of Benjamin Britten with two works which opened and closed the performance. Britten’s ‘Sinfonia da Requiem’ is a serious, complex, challenging piece – both to play and to listen to. It required huge concentration from the orchestra and our tight, clear performance was a significant achievement which owed much to our conductor, David Knight. We concluded the concert with a very different piece of Britten, his joyous ‘Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra’ with its variations on a theme by Purcell culminating in a glorious fugue and triumphant finale. In between the two works by Britten were a stunning performance of the Elgar ‘Cello Concerto by Jacqueline Johnson and Holst’s ‘Ballet Music from The Perfect Fool’ – a lively, tuneful piece with a playfully lopsided 7/8 rhythm. It was an interesting and varied programme which brought an enthusiastic response from a packed audience. 

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