Wiltshire & Swindon Youth Orchestra

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  • ConductorStuart Stratford
  • PianoCordelia Williams
  • MussorgskyNight on a Bare Mountain
  • ProkofievPiano Concerto No 3
  • TchaikovskySymphony No 6 in B minor Pathétique
  • Date:
    Sunday 11 Apr 2010
  • Time:
    3:00 PM

Some of Wiltshire and Swindon's finest musicians rise to the challenge of this exciting all-Russian programme. Mussorgsky's iconic masterpiece explodes with wild abandon as witches, sorcerers and evil spirits gather for a night of pagan revelry. In the last movement of Prokofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto an 'argument' develops between the soloist and orchestra that builds to a blazingly virtuosic coda. Initially received with silent incomprehension, Tchaikovsky's Pathétique, with its overwhelming emotional content has become one of his best loved works.

A Wiltshire & Swindon Youth Orchestra promotion

 

  • Tickets:
    £13
  • Under 18s:
    £8
  • Orchestra members:
    £1 off (please call 01225 860100)
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Comments (1)

  • John Bennett

    15/04/1007:27

    I wasn't sure if I had made te right choice at first: "A Night on the Bare Mountain" sounded even more of an unholy cacophony than I suspect even the composer intended. However, Wiltshire's finest young musicians were roused by Cordelia Williams' insouciantly mellifluous prestidigitative flights of fancy in Prokofiev's 3rd PC to lend great support. The clarinettist opened proceedings with a nerveless seductive solo which set the tone for the whole work.
    I have to admit to reservations about the orchestra tackling a work as emotionally draining as Tchaikovsky's Pathetique. To expect teenagers to identify with a piece which ends with a depiction of man's life ebbing away is a big ask. However, all such doubts were erased by superb playing, particularly from the strings in the big melodies. Some lapses in ensemble were amply compensated by fine contributions from the trombones, a superb flautist and clarinettist (different lead player than the Prokofiev) and a timpanist who ratcheted up the overwhelming sense of impending doom at the big climaxes in the first and third movements. Great stuff!

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