As Compelling as Expected
MIKE WHEELER is impressed by Ravel, Thorvaldsdóttir, Nielsen, Shostakovich and more from the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain
'They're amazing' said conductor Jaime Martín, gesturing to the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain players after their stunning performance of Nielsen's Fourth Symphony, and who could possibly argue with that?
Their splendidly eclectic programme began with as engrossing a performance of Ravel's Boléro as I've ever heard, giving the lie to the composer's claim that 'there's no music in it'. It began in a whisper, as if from a great distance, and with the second violins on the right, the sound had ideal focus, enhanced by the wind principals moving, in turn, to the rear corners of the stage for their laid-back solos; principal saxophone Emily Barron, in particular, clearly enjoyed Ravel's written-in bluesy slurs. The constant clicking and whirring sound-image reminded us that this is flamenco writ large, and the growing tension was superbly controlled, ensuring that the climactic lift into E major near the end came as a real jolt.
One of the players then spoke enthusiastically to the audience about the NYO's ethos, and what it means to the members to take part in its various projects.
A National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain member speaks to the audience
We've heard two pieces by Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdóttir in Nottingham in the last few years; Catamorphosis was the third, every bit as compelling as I expected. The opening, a study in very soft dynamics, immediately suggested physical forces at work in the landscape, with low rumbling percussion, harp and piano, punctuated by bell-strokes, and joined by rustling string figures. As colours and textures slowly shifted, dark, but not menacing, moments were offest by bright, gleaming sounds, and the slowly evolving mosaic of individual motifs created moments of both stillness and powerful undercurrents. In the whispering string figures at the end, the players captured a real evanescent quality. Conductor and orchestra handled the work with the kind of control that enhanced, rather than impeded, the music's progress. Were the red and green lights projected onto the back wall above the choir seats intended to evoke the aurora borealis? A nice touch, if so.
A scene from The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain's 'Illuminate' January 2025 concert tour
After the interval the seven percussionists lined up along the front of the stage for a short stamping, hand-clapping, body-percussion piece, followed by two groups of trumpets and saxophones in the choir seats, in a resounding antiphonal extended fanfare, both pieces devised by the players themselves. A second player then talked to the audience, reinforcing what the first told us.
For the Nielsen, the second violins were on the conductor's left. The first movement erupted in a lava-flow of ferocious energy. Irascible outbursts were given their head, while the first appearance of the theme that runs through the movement already carried suggestions of its expansive re-emergence in the finale. The unsettling passage of pizzicato and bowed strings, and the violas' repeated-note protest, added to the sense of urgency. The wind music at the start of the second movement had just the right folksy touch, opening onto a much-needed breathing-space, before the strings launched the third movement, giving their theme an ideal tensile strength, which vividly suggested Nielsen's own image of an eagle riding the wind. The solo violin and viola duet - leader Peter Ryan and viola principal Clio Proffitt - produced a moment of tenderness, before the woodwind's repeated-note call started the process of ratcheting up the tension. The climactic outburst broke like a wave, then collapsed, leaving a sense of expectation, before the strings produced a whirl of collective virtuosity at the lead-in to the finale. Power surges were tellingly balanced against more brooding episodes, the two timpani players gave their duel everything they had, and while the point of arrival was perhaps a little brass-heavy, the first-movement theme rang out magnificently as it reached its long-awaited apogee.
Jaime Martín and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain acknowledge applause from the audience
Judging by the beams on everyone's faces at the end, Jaime Martín enjoyed working with the players as much as they with him. For their encore, they played a shortened version of 'Waltz No 2' from Shostakovich's so-called - it's a long story - 'Jazz Suite No 2'; after a while, they had us all humming along. And as we all moved out to the foyer, there were four more harpists playing it again, as part of their own mini-recital. The NYO is that sort of set-up.
Copyright © 11 January 2025
Mike Wheeler,
Derby UK
