Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
20 November 2024
Back in the summer, when I told a group of my friends who have rarely or never been to see me play in the Northampton Symphony Orchestra, that our next concert was going to include Holst's 'The Planets', they all immediately booked tickets, months in advance. And they were not the only ones who wanted to see this particularly popular piece of classical music: our performance sold out weeks ago and we amassed a waiting list of 80 people hoping for returns. On Saturday evening our packed audience, huge orchestra and women's chorus meant there wasn't a spare seat in Christchurch, Northampton. The first half of the concert started with Leopold Stokowski's arrangement of the 'Toccata and Fugue' by JS Bach - famously conducted by Stokowski alongside Mickey Mouse in 'Fantasia'. We then played the 'Four Last Songs' by Richard Strauss - one of my favourite pieces of music - with the excellent Northampton-based Irish soprano Alison Roddy (who sang Hamilton Harty’s setting of ‘Ode to a Nightingale’ with NSO last year, reviewed here in June 2023). Alison gave a stunning performance and the orchestra’s leader Richard Smith played the achingly beautiful violin solo in ‘Beim Schlafengehen’ wonderfully. I had previously played the 'Four Last Songs' with the City of Peterborough Symphony Orchestra (twice), Milton Keynes Sinfonia and Northampton Symphony Orchestra but Saturday was the first time I have played the first horn part with its gorgeous solo in 'September'. This was a nerve-racking and emotional moment for me as it brought back memories of the last time we played the 'Four Last Songs' with NSO in 2010 (reviewed here in November 2010) when the horn solo was played beautifully by David Lack in his first appearance with the orchestra for 18 months after treatment for cancer. Dave died in 2014 and is still fondly remembered and much missed. 'The Planets' by Gustav Holst is in the top ten most popular requests from BBC Radio 4’s ‘Your Desert Island Discs’. It's a piece many of us grew up knowing: my Mum and Dad had a LP of 'The Planets' which my brother and I used to play over and over when we were little. We last performed 'The Planets' with NSO at the Derngate in Northampton in 2011 (reviewed here in June 2011). Every performance feels like a very special occasion. The piece requires a vast orchestra (including two harps, two timpanists, organ and quadruple winds) plus a women's chorus whose ethereal wordless harmonies drift us off into outer space at the end of the final movement 'Neptune'. I thought our performance on Saturday went incredibly well. Conductor John Gibbons kept us from wallowing in the weightier moments, maintaining a brisk delicacy to many of the movements that demonstrated how well written and orchestrated this popular piece is. Getting to know 'The Planets' again over the past few months I can see its influence on so much of the best film music. This was the first time I have played the first horn part in 'The Planets' and I enjoyed playing the exposed solos at the beginning of 'Venus'. There were brilliant solos from across the orchestra (too many to mention them all but I was particularly impressed by Peter May's tenor tuba solo in 'Mars'). And the women from the Northampton Bach Choir provided a chillingly beautiful delicate moment to finish an amazing concert. We livestreamed our performance of 'The Planets' to give those who hadn't managed to get tickets a chance to see it and you can watch the recording at: https://www.youtube.com/live/hfZlcSSB1AQ?si=NhFFuVbqccyOFEzU (wind forwards to 21 mins).
posted by Robin Simpson @ 11:53 am
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