Crit 11 Feb 2006

Quite often, the programme of a symphony orchestra consists of a concerto and a symphony, usually preceded by an overture. The Tayside Symphony Orchestra threw that format out of the window in their concert in the Reid Hall, Forfar, on Saturday night, and it ended in an evening that was immensely enjoyable and at times quite light-hearted. The Reid Hall has an intimacy lacking in other venues and this added much to the concert's overall success.

The programme started with Peter Maxwell Davies' Orkney Wedding with Sunrise. This was a super succession of reels, both sober and raucous, and I wonder if an Orkney Wedding is as much fun as the composer makes out! The orchestra rejoiced in the excellent pictures painted, with an excellent contribution by fourteen-year-old piper, Glenn Ross. I never thought the pipes would fit in with a full-blown symphony orchestra, but this worked to perfection.

Elgar's Nimrod from the Enigma Variations followed, a suitably sedate and sober piece after what had gone before. There were some wonderful contrasts here, extremely well played. Tony Britten's Orchestral Suite from Les Miserables had been played only once prior to this concert due to various reasons of unavailability and for the orchestra to include it in its programme is a coup to say the least. It is not an easy piece, I suspect, but conductor Ron Walker was always in control, and the orchestra responded well with a first-class performance. The music of the musical is most diverse and Britten's arrangement made sure everyone got their chance to shine, with solos spread throughout the orchestra.

The second half of the programme was quite light, but still enjoyable. The Beatlecracker Suite IS a cracker, eight Lennon-McArtney songs arranged in the style of Tchaikovsky. Great fun, and the audience were given a chance to name all eight. Even although I had heard the work before, I still failed miserably! A wonderful Campbell Mackenzie Benedictus added a serious touch...again beautifully played...before came what is probably the most incredible piece of music I have ever heard, Ernest Tomlinson's Fantasia on Auld Lang Syne. The challenge for the audience was to identify the 129 snippets "borrowed" from other works...the challenge for the orchestra was to play a demanding and technically difficult work. The former was impossible, but the latter was carried of with style and panache.