EAST ANGLIA CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Classical music is back at West Road – and how! The East Anglia Chamber Orchestra (EACHO) filled our prime concert space with an eclectic programme that was both solidly popular and adventurous (very). Under the able baton of Toby Purser, the band excelled even its own high standards with a menu of Mozart, Beethoven, Sibelius and….Rautavaara (of whom more later).
There was palpable excitement in the audience (almost full) at the very thought of a live concert with a real 3-D orchestra. They were not disappointed. After a few bars of cobweb brushing, the orchestra got well into its stride with Mozart’s overture to the Magic Flute. Now, in my opinion this is the finest curtain-raiser in all music theatre. The band did it proud with some spot on woodwind, richly sonorous strings and brassy brass. Purser is a treat of a conductor – floppy curly hair waving in the music breeze, dancing baton, theatrical pezzazz. After this exciting start, a real personal thrill. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (the Emperor) was the very first bit of classical music I heard (thanks to a BBC televised concert circa 1962) and it’s been a favourite ever since. At the keyboard was Sasha Grynyuk, a young Ukrainian soloist with a formidable reputation. His pianism is big and beefy; watching him play this wonderful concerto was a treat in itself. He lives every note - his visage mirroring the twists and turns of the composer’s joyous, humorous, romantic and grandiose masterpiece. His muscular reading of the work was riveting and he was amply supported by the EACHO chamber.
The second half of the evening began with an aural revelation. The Finnish composer Rautavaara wrote his Cantus Articus in 1972 as a homage to the melodious bird song of the Arctic region of his homeland. The three movements match orchestra with recorded bird song and the result was mesmeric. From the terrific opening bars with a duet of flutes picking up the hoops and whistles of northern Finland’s marsh birds to the triumphantly gorgeous finale (a receding chorus of Whopper swans and richly orchestrated accompaniment including harp and celeste). EACHO played with seemingly confident ease in an unfamiliar piece that left us all in magical awe.
Magic is an appropriate word for the final work – the seventh symphony of Sibelius. This was yet another ambitious work for this regional band but they brought the intense, one-movement work to a searing conclusion. The Sibelius is an elusive piece which tantalises with its snatches of melody, soaring climaxes and always that sense of bittersweet drama.
As Purser brought the monumental symphony to a triumphant close, there was more. Mask removed, he addressed the audience and said what we all felt – live music was back and the experience of musicians, audience and the music was like a reunion of friends. But he also wanted to remember those who have lost their lives in this brutal pandemic. The orchestral encore could not have been more appropriate – that hymn to friendship and memory, Nimrod, from Enigma Variation by Elgar. Tears of joy and tears of sadness. Yes, classical music is back.
