The Welsh Sinfonia performed a beautiful selection of works for this short ‘Classical Hour’ concert in the new Dora Stoutzker Hall.

Led by Mark Eager, the chamber orchestra performed three classic yet rarely heard pieces, which included William Boyce’s Symphony No. 8 in D minor, Benjamin Britten’s Simple Symphony Op. 4, and Piotr Tchaikovsky’s impassioned Serenade in C for Strings Op. 48.

Boyce’s Symphony is a stunning yet little known representation of the music of the eighteenth century. The orchestra chose to perform the work honouring many of the Baroque’s original stylistic features, which was most apparent through the smoother tone gained by using period bowing techniques. It was also refreshing to be able to hear the harpsichord, played superbly by Carl Grainger: one of the benefits of performing in a purpose built concert hall for chamber music.

The stately Pomposo (Allegro) moves elegantly through low, sumptuous tones to bright airy passages, contrasting wonderfully with the slower and more refined second movement, Largo (Andante). Finally, the Tempo di Gavotta (Risoluto) ends the work in a steady and graceful dance, leaving the audience wondering why the works of William Boyce are so underperformed.

Britten’s Simple Symphony is certainly not child’s play and it is a credit to Robin Stowell for leading this technically difficult work so well.  The four movements threw the audience into the twentieth century and demonstrated the orchestra’s fantastic programming. From ‘Boisterous Bourrée’ to ‘Playful Pizzicato’, and ‘Sentimental Sarabande’ to ‘Frolicsome Finale’, this work almost demands the listener to reminisce their youth, and is quite a spectacle in places.

Finally, the Welsh Sinfonia performed Tchaikovsky’s well-loved Serenade for Strings, and was perhaps the most passionately performed work of the evening. The orchestra made clear the composer’s love for this piece and no expense was spared in creating a stunningly professional performance of it. The ensemble began and ended phrases smoothly and subtly, and the final pause of the third movement was, despite its technical difficulty, out of this world.

Yet again, the Welsh Sinfonia delivered an exciting programme and performed it with the professionalism and technical ability of any of Britain’s foremost chamber orchestras. Their next concert in January 2012 promises to be just as compelling.

Star Rating: 5*

by Jessica Ruth Morris

Welsh-born international conductor Grant Llewellyn has accepted an invitation from The Welsh Sinfonia to become our President.

Born in Tenby and living with his family in Cardiff, Grant has a formidable reputation as an interpreter of music of the baroque and classical periods (he is President of the American Handel and Haydn Society), and is renowned for his exceptional charisma, energy and easy authority.  He is currently Music Director of the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, and has worked, and continues to work, with major orchestras throughout North America and Europe.

Chairman Carl Grainger speaks for everyone involved with the orchestra when he says “We are really delighted that such an eminent conductor, and one who is in such sympathy with the chamber orchestral repertoire as well as larger scale music, should so enthusiastically accept our invitation.  We now have a Patron, the Earl of St Andrews, and a President in Grant Llewellyn, who will support and promote our efforts to create a national chamber orchestra for Wales. We look forward to working with them both, and especially to Grant’s conducting debut with the Welsh Sinfonia as soon as his busy schedule permits.”

We are absolutely delighted that the pre-eminent Japanese conductor, Tadaaki Otaka, has accepted our invitation to become our International President.  It is the final element in establishing The Welsh Sinfonia as an orchestra not just for Wales, but in due course for the wider international stage.  We now have the support of three hugely respected and very knowledgeable figures from the worlds of music and international relations, all of whom are strongly connected to Wales. Maestro Otaka has kept in touch with the ongoing development of the Welsh Sinfonia, and his association with us is a huge vote of confidence in the ensemble’s growing stature. Our patron is the Earl of St Andrews, and our UK President is Grant Llewellyn.

Maestro Otaka was conductor at the BBC National Orchestra of Wales from 1987, becoming their Conductor Laureate in 1996. He received an honorary CBE in 2010 in recognition of his outstanding services to music in the UK, and also holds a Suntory Medal, the highest musical award in his native Japan.

An Afternoon of Music for Strings; The Welsh Sinfonia

The Welsh Sinfonia delivered another colourful string programme under the direction of Mark Eager at the Dora Stoutzker Hall, featuring the little known Serenade in E flat, Op 6 composed by Josef Suk, alongside other influential composers; William Mathias and Antonín Dvořák.

Josef Suk is arguably better known through his compositional studies with Dvořák and the later marriage of Dvořák’s eldest daughter. Suk’s Serenade in E flat was composed at the tender age of 18 and, like the rest of works in this programme, is full of rhythmic vitality mirrored with pure serenity. The strings captured the richness and sublimity of the third movement, which was followed by the distinctively challenging virtuosic finale, which fully demonstrated the technical capabilities of the Welsh Sinfonia. Particular highlights within the work include the numerous violin solos, performed by the leader, Robin Stowell, and also the cello solo in the third movement, performed by Nick Gethin, whose passionate sound could be heard by all.

William Mathias’ Divertimento, Op 7 was an excellent choice of repertoire, placed in the thick of Czech compositions, and was most exciting. The rhythmical aspects of the work as a whole were well controlled, culminating with a further rhythmic onslaught in the final movement.

The concert concluded with Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings, Opus 22. Perhaps the most popular of the programme, it once again demonstrated the diverse capabilities of this string orchestra, who handled all technical aspects of the work with great musicality. The lyrical beauty of the fourth movement was achieved through the tender treatment of the melodic line, which is strikingly different to the finale, which was full of exuberance, excitement, and was a real joy to watch.

The Welsh Sinfonia return to the Dora Stoutzker Hall for the final time this season on 22^nd March with an orchestral programme of Haydn, Schubert, and features a new commission by John Hardy.

 Stephanie Richards

The Cardiff office of commercial law firm Geldards has become a Commissioning Partner of the Welsh Sinfonia.  A three-year programme of support will underpin the orchestra’s commissioning of a new chamber orchestral work every twelve months.

The Welsh Sinfonia’s Chairman, Carl Grainger, said, “We are thrilled that one of Cardiff’s most prestigious professional services firms has chosen to support us in this way.  Commissioning new music to increase the chamber orchestral repertoire is a vital part of what we do. Their support for this aspect of our work is a testament to Geldards’ forward-thinking strategy and their confidence in the continuing development of the Welsh Sinfonia as an important professional chamber orchestra for Wales and the wider UK.”

Recent commissions by The Welsh Sinfonia have included a percussion concerto, The Emoticons of Time, from Eilir Owen Griffiths first performed in March 2010 with soloist Dave Danford and The Path Through the Woods, a concertante piece for recorder and orchestra from Rhian Samuel which was premiered in April this year with soloist Pamela Thorby.

The first new composition to be supported by Geldards has been commissioned from Welsh composer John Hardy, and will be performed in the Dora Stoutzker Hall at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in March 2012.

Geldards partner Rowland Davies said, “Geldards has a long history of supporting the arts in Wales and is delighted to join with Welsh Sinfonia in this commissioning programme. We believe this project will lead to the creation of significant new works and look forward to a fruitful partnership with the orchestra.”

We are delighted to announce that George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, has accepted our invitation to become Patron of the orchestra.

Responding to the invitation, Lord St Andrews said, ”I am honoured and delighted to have been asked to be Patron of this fine ensemble, which has such an important place in the musical life of Wales. Under its Artistic Director Mark Eager, the Welsh Sinfonia has become known for its innovative and imaginative programming, and a focus on contemporary Welsh composers. I look forward with pleasure to our association – and to having the excuse to revisit Wales.”

Making the announcement at the Welsh Sinfonia’s concert in April, the Chairman, Carl Grainger, noted that the Earl, son of the Duke of Kent, has a lively and wide ranging interest in and knowledge of, music, is a trombone player himself, and has family connections with Wales. Lord St Andrews is also Patron of a number of other charitable bodies.

The Welsh Sinfonia is looking forward to welcoming their new Patron to one of their concerts in the 2011/12 season, which will be performed in the new auditorium of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, starting on Saturday October 8^th.

It was with some trepidation that I approached Messiah, having previously witnessed several poor performances; however a first rate performance from the Welsh Sinfonia Orchestra and Chorus under the baton of Mark Eager reminded me just why this piece is so popular.

The orchestra produced a light and extremely well balanced sound and captured the character of the piece perfectly.  The small ensemble was very effective: the sound remained light throughout the work and never became overindulgent, and it also provided a continuity that Messiah can sometimes lack when the textures do not vary drastically between tutti and solo sections.  The orchestral Sinfony was played with panache and captured the attention of the audience immediately.

All the sections for chorus were brilliant, very powerful but still remaining light, with a very rich bass sound and accurate Baroque vocal colouring from the choir.  The long runs were always well articulated; however, they sometimes had a tendency to restrain the tempo slightly, especially in and He shall purify.

Both the professional and the chorus soloists were all excellent, and their communication with the reduced ensemble never faltered or lost focus.  Jeremy Huw Williams delivered the bass solos with a great deal of character, but while this would have suited a performance with a larger orchestra, it was occasionally at odds with the delicate execution from the players and other soloists.  

Handel’s change from soprano solo to alto duet for How beautiful the feet was particularly successful, and Tom Bates’ (alto) and Iestyn Morris’ (tenor) voices worked very well together.

What made this performance even more special was the level of musical commitment from performers who were giving their services for free.  Not once did the concentration falter, and much credit must be given to Eager for inspiring such a unified and unclichéd performance.  It is a great feat to keep such attention throughout an entire performance.

The evening finished with a spectacular Amen.  This was an absolutely thrilling concert, and it was an utter delight to hear Messiah played so well.

Mike Sims

Welsh Sinfonia chairman Carl Grainger has been recognised as Individual of the Year by Arts & Business Cymru. Carl was presented with the award at a star-studded evening in the Wales Millennium Centre.

Highlighting his “major role in taking forward a 3 year business plan to build skills, networks and artistic standards” and praising his enormous “commitment and drive” the judges said that Carl’s “financial expertise and passion for classical music made him ideally suited to lead a process of change in the orchestra’s systems, finance and organisation.”

Antony Griew, writing in the Western Mail, said:

As the final concert in its first series of chamber orchestral music ‘Spirit of the Dance’, the Welsh Sinfonia sandwiched a newly commissioned work between two pop classics. As a balanced programme it worked well. As a satisfying musical experience there was perhaps an excess of the well-known.

Bartok is one of the many 20th century composers to use folk music for inspiration. His Romanian Folk Dances are simple, fun and marvellously orchestrated. They leave the listener wanting more and are the perfect warm-up work for a band. The Welsh Sinfonia gave it a lively performance with excellent timing. The rubatos of the first movement slowed the music perfectly, like a wave breaking on the shore. The final three dances were properly madcap.

Eilir Owen Griffiths’s concerto for percussion and orchestra, ‘The Emoticons of Time’, was the commissioned work. It is in five movements, each illustrating a time of day.

‘6.00am; Gwaelod y Garth‘ opens with bass growls and swells to a wall of sound in which the percussionist (Dave Danford, who played faultlessly) and the orchestra combine rather than compete.

‘7.52am; Central Station‘ is appropriately repetitive and bustling. The whistle at its end was a fun surprise.

‘3.22pm‘ began with a long solo on drum kit. Rhythmic and exciting, it’s a good centrepiece for the work. On revision, the composer might consider varying the responses of the strings to the soloist; for me these repeats cry out for something spikier.

‘6.17pm; Pam?” In discussion, Eilir explained. Why did he always sit in the ‘quiet’ carriage when it was just as noisy as the others? This longer movement adds a sizeable orchestral percussion section to the soloist’s marimba. Its ending was satisfyingly abrupt.

‘10.36pm; Diwedd y Dydd‘ in this section the soloist moves between vibraphone and drum kit. There are nice flashes from woodwind and brass.

All in all, this is a work with some real gravitas. It keeps the attention.

Finally, the orchestra played Beethoven’s seventh symphony. The string section was the exact size for a classical symphony, probably smaller than was used at the premiere. Despite this, I didn’t sense much difference from the large bands I’m used to. This says much for a band aiming to become Wales’s much needed national chamber orchestra. The performance was fine without cavil, in no way mannered and using perfect tempi.

I’m glad I went to the concert.

From Music Web International

“What was certainly communicated was the music’s almost ecstatic joy, the sense of a music seeming to strain at the very confines of logic and order (yet never truly transgressing those boundaries), swept along by its own momentum, a kind of endless self-generation of succeeding phrases, a carefully-created illusion of abandonment. This was a properly exciting performance of the work, a performance which would surely have made any listener understand Beethoven’s own comment that this was “one of the happiest products of [his] poor talents”. Any orchestra that can make the listener appreciate the weight of that remark is getting a lot right.”

Read the complete review »