Surbiton Symphony Orchestera - Bruckner 5

[Brixton Dave]

Not a broadcast - so apologies.
Nevertheless I felt moved to pay tribute to the Surbiton Symphony Orchestra who gave us an ambitious programme last Saturday 21st January 23.
The concert started with Mozart's Clarinet Concerto which was well presented.
The second half had Bruckner's 5th with a lead-in of Bruckner's 2 Funeral Equali for brass.
I was transfixed by the first movement. Conductor Peter le Tissier clearly had rumination in his veins. This approach made me think back to the old-school performances of Eugen Jochum I grew up with in the 60s & 70s. Definitely not the more up tempo Haitinck/Wand style.
The first two movements were pretty flawless. I felt that the scherzo and finale were slightly marred by tuning issues. Whether this was because the church in which the performance took place was getting colder by the minute from about 8.30 pm or whether the length of the programme was taxing the strings, and brass to their limit I cannot say.
In any case I am glad to have braved the elements for a trip to the quintessential south London suburb for a really inspiring evening.

[Alison]

Not a broadcast - so apologies.
Nevertheless I felt moved to pay tribute to the Surbiton Symphony Orchestra who gave us an ambitious programme last Saturday 21st January 23.
The concert started with Mozart's Clarinet Concerto which was well presented.
The second half had Bruckner's 5th with a lead-in of Bruckner's 2 Funeral Equali for brass.
I was transfixed by the first movement. Conductor Peter le Tissier clearly had rumination in his veins. This approach made me think back to the old-school performances of Eugen Jochum I grew up with in the 60s & 70s. Definitely not the more up tempo Haitinck/Wand style.
The first two movements were pretty flawless. I felt that the scherzo and finale were slightly marred by tuning issues. Whether this was because the church in which the performance took place was getting colder by the minute from about 8.30 pm or whether the length of the programme was taxing the strings, and brass to their limit I cannot say.
In any case I am glad to have braved the elements for a trip to the quintessential south London suburb for a really inspiring evening.

Sounds an excellent evening. Good programme Maestro Le Tissier!

[Ein Heldenleben]

Sounds like an excellent concert . Our local orchestra are doing Mahler 1 in a few weeks. It strikes me that the problem with taking on these big 19th century symphonic works is finding enough brass players . Maybe less of a problem in the North (and indeed those other places with a silver band tradition) ?

[EnemyoftheStoat]

Sounds like an excellent concert . Our local orchestra are doing Mahler 1 in a few weeks. It strikes me that the problem with taking on these big 19th century symphonic works is finding enough brass players . Maybe less of a problem in the North (and indeed those other places with a silver band tradition) ?

It seems to me that it's always strings for whom calls are being put out, at least in this part of the world. A couple of times I've made contact with local-ish bands who were putting on bigger works and needed brass deps; neither followed up on their initial 'we'll be in touch about a sit-in and try out', which seems to me to be just bad manners. Maybe you have to be in with the local mafia...

[ChandlersFord]

The Scunthorpe Philharmonic can wipe the floor with the Surbiton Symphony Orchestra - any day of the week!