Jonathan Dodd shares his review of the latest Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra (IWSO) concert. Images with kind permission of Allan Marsh. Ed
Those of us who regularly attend concerts by the Isle of Wight Orchestra Symphony know that they consistently produce performances that delight and astonish us. Putting together programmes must be a very complex affair, juggling the availability of musicians and scores, the suitability or otherwise of different styles and periods, and making sure that there is a balance between popular pieces and new works.
Quite how the orchestra manages to make all these ingredients work every time quite defeats my imagination, and I applaud every single person who works hard to bring each concert to the Medina Theatre, every time.
The perfect example of the art of concert-making
Last Saturday’s concert was a perfect example of the art of concert-making, and it will live in my memory for a very long time.
There were new pieces that I had never heard, familiar music I had never experienced live, a World Premiere of a specially-written piece, and a thrilling solo performance. And an unexpected item after the interval that was very moving. I could not have asked for more.
Spanish dirty doings
The concert opened with the Three-Cornered Hat Suite, by Manuel de Falla. This was composed as ballet music for a dark Spanish folk tale of an official trying to seduce the wife of the local miller.
It was full of expressive music, with fantastic rhythms and a high emotional content as events took various farcical turns, in the spirit of pantomime. The orchestra smartly kept all of this together, never letting up on the fun and boisterousness, played with great sensitivity and beauty throughout.
Climbing up Jacob’s Ladder
The second piece was the world premiere of a piece called Jacob’s Ladder, by Louis Mander. Mr Mander wrote an opera on the life of E M Forster, which was conducted by our esteemed conductor Mr Jonathan Butcher, and he offered to write a composition specially for the IWSO. This was inspired by a walk by Mr Mander through Cheddar Gorge.
The music evoked intensely the sights and sounds of an English summer walk, and the effort involved in climbing Jacob’s Ladder. The orchestra gave the piece a real sense of occasion, as it deserved, and there was prolonged applause from the audience and players when it was revealed that Mr Mander himself was in the audience to witness the first performance of this most accomplished work.
All the right notes, in exactly the right order
Next, after a tussle with the piano, the orchestra rearranged itself to accompany Florian Mitrea in Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor.
The first piano chords are so famous that everyone recognises them, even if they’ve never heard the whole concerto or been to a classical concert. It is so famous that it even inspired an enormously well-loved Morecambe and Wise sketch, featuring the great Andre Previn.
On Saturday the entire room settled down to listen to a wonderful performance of this iconic work. Our faith was justified.
The soloist and orchestra provided the grand emotional sweep of the first and third movements and the calm, dreamlike simplicity of the middle movement, so beautifully that I was entranced.
Mr Mitrea was magnificent, delivering a performance that I shan’t forget. I salute the skills and effort of everyone involved. It was wonderful.
Ukrainian National Anthem
After the interval, Jonathan Butcher announced an unexpected item in the light of current events.
The orchestra played the Ukrainian National Anthem as a tribute to the unimaginable suffering and bravery of the people of Ukraine.
The whole audience stood, as did all those musicians who were able to play their instruments whilst standing, and they played the anthem with great solemnity.
It’s a good anthem, and lent itself to the sense of pride and outrage that we all feel about that country and its brave resistance to unlawful invasion.
Click the play button below to watch/listen to the performance of the Ukrainian National Anthem.
English excellence
After the interval the orchestra played The Banks of Green Willow, by George Butterworth. He wrote music before the First World War, roaming through Yorkshire and Sussex, collecting folk music, and immersing himself in the English countryside. He wrote a lot of music, most of which he destroyed before going to fight, and was a casualty of the Battle of the Somme, in 1916.
The IWSO played another piece of his not so long ago. And it is simple, elegiac British music that reflects our country and countryside. It was soothing and lovely, played lightly and clearly by the orchestra.
Enigmatic indeed!
The last item on the programme was another great piece, this time by Edward Elgar, the Enigma Variations, another part of our collective consciousness. We so often hear parts of this heavenly music as an accompaniment to our everyday lives, and we don’t always even recognise them for what they are. But to hear the whole suite from beginning to end was a continuous chain of moments when I noticed another tune that was instantly familiar.
They began, were recognised and marvelled at, and then on came another, like the waves on the shore. It was extraordinary for me. I thought I knew it, but in so many real ways, I didn’t know it at all.
It unfolded as a sort of Chinese box of a piece, with repeated themes and surprisingly majestic elements, such as the Nimrod section, that I thought I remembered as being in another Elgar piece. Of course, that wasn’t true, it was just my faulty memory. I was glad to be corrected.
Throughout, the orchestra and its principal players gave excellent performances, their playing raised my spirits and my understanding, and gave me an emotional experience that moved me deeply. I can’t express my appreciation enough, and I’m not sure I’ve done the evening proud in this review. I’m just deeply grateful that we are able to boast such a fine orchestra in this small island, and proud that I can claim a small connection to it. Thank you all for a memorable event, and I’m looking forward to the next concert.
Next Concert
Please note that the next concert will be on Sunday 15th May, at 7:15pm in the Medina Theatre. Book your tickets via the Medina Theatre Website.
There’s going to be a piece called Scenes Pittoresques by Massenet, which I’m very much looking forward to. There’s a performance of the Kliphuis Violin Concerto in D minor, played by the composer himself, which is very exciting, followed by the epic Brahms Symphony No. 1 in C minor. It’ll be very popular, so make sure you get your tickets. It’ll be an event! See you there!
I shall very much miss the programme notes by the inestimable Jane Pelham, without whose help these reviews would have been poorer by fare. I wish the very best of luck to her replacement, and I look forward to continue skating the thin line between acknowledgement and plagiarism in future reviews.
See the IWSO Website to find out more about the Orchestra.
