Amici orchestra

Press, 1 March 1982, Page 6

Amici orchestra

■Concert by the Amici Cham2 er Orchestra, conducted by ohn Pattinson, held at the JtArts Centre on Sunday, Febiruary 28, at 7.30 p.m. Reviewed by Allan Francis. w By any reckoning the pro-. gramme Covered by the Amstel, Chamber Orchestra was enough to be 'a fairly , safe bet, set interesting enough to Captivate the audience with Some masterly playing of Standards by Haydn, Elgar, Jrieg, and Handel. S The exception must be the “three-movement home-grown of John Ritchie’s the Concertino “for Clarinet and String “Orchestra, a miniature gem, nicely by its well-, known partners. / . The umpteenth performance of the exciting 1958 « composition was. an auspicione, Gloria Streat,. the soloist, being ,impressive, to JX audience and composer-alike. «»The flute-like tone of the

clarinet reflected perfectly the mature nature of the work. , The presence of the two great string works, the “Holberg” suite and the Elgar. “Serenade for Strings,” each with its' own element of nineteenth century neo-clas-sicism, was apt and welcome. Conceived within a few years of each other, the Elgar was the’ only one initially in string form, the “Holberg” suite (1884) being originally for piano, but later betraying other origins when ' transcribed for strings. ' Attractive works, ele- ’ gantly fashioned by the Am- ' ici, these undoubtedly formed the centrepiece of the evening’s performance, with the ’ Clarinet ’ Concertino.. Overtones of the lyric Wagner ; were poignantly illustrated - in the Elgar Larghetto with ' ;.af few heady whiffs of “Sieg- ; .fried Idyll" surfacing. from : time to time.

With the opening allegro of Haydn’s “Mercury” symphony (the first flush of maturity), the orchestra moved adroitly into, the initial phase of the work, hampered some- . what by a few recurring tremors of untidiness in the • strings. As with the Kingsway Hall, the Great Hall at the Arts Centre suffers from ex- , cessive reverberation which , left some bass sounds dwelling in the rafters. Otherwise ' the sound of the ensemble ; was not too. bad. ! The. 11-movement “Water Music” suite was translated orchestrally into oldfashioned terms, but at newfashioned tempi the hectic ■ speeds of the allegros almost left the rest of the work ; straggling behind. After the breathless Hah- ’ del and the honest, work-a-, . day Haydn, the poetry of Elgar and Grieg found a happy niche, and this was the ’ after-taste which remained with the listener.* *' ' "“ ‘