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LEICESTER MERCURY 21/10/03 LEICESTER PHILHARMONIC CHOIR, AND BARDI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA DE MONTFORT HALL, LEICESTER, 18/10/03 By NEIL CRUTCHLEY
Bardi brings drama and excitement OVER the years, Beethoven’s Ninth has made fairly regular appearances in Bardi concerts, so it comes as no surprise to find that this performance achieved an impressive level of technical refinement. So assured was the playing that the very occasional slip served to remind us that the Bardi is, after all, a non-professional orchestra. In spite of a fairly low-key opening, the first movement gained power and momentum and the scherzo was well paced with delightfully sprung rhythms. Conductor Andrew Constantine drew outstanding playing and phrasing in the sublime adagio and the choral finale developed with drama and excitement. The Philharmonic Choir responded with enthusiasm. Soloists, Naomi Harvey Susan Parry, Wynne Evans and Jeremy Huw Williams were incisive and well balanced. Susan Parry was the soloist in a fervent account of Elgar’s reflective The Music Makers. The performance could have relaxed and expanded a little more in places but, overall, Constantine’s sense of purpose was an asset in a work that could be easily over sentimentalised. |
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