Night music to a box of delights, with the passionate and expressive playing of cellist Natalie Clein sandwiched in the middle — what a feast for the senses!
Charismatic conductor Tim Murray had put together a fascinating programme of music, perfectly suited to the Sinfonia's ensemble status. Introducing the opening contemporary piece, Night Music, written by Colin Matthews in 1977, he said it had a “lyrical tune, but one that tries to break out”. It was a fitting description for a piece that tended towards Mahler in tone, with its dark drum roll and final chord of longing.
Closing the concert, La Boîte à Joujoux — Debussy's ballet pantomime for children — proved a delight, and Peter Grove's piano-playing was masterly, particularly in the comical battlefield tableau.
But the evening's highlight had to be the presence of international cellist Natalie Clein. It says a lot about Salisbury Sinfonia that a cellist of her calibre will perform as guest soloist, and Schumann's romantic and majestic cello concerto proved the perfect vehicle for her. Her pained facial expressions conveyed the pure passion she had for the music, and her playing was elegant and poetic. An encore of Bach's Prelude to his G Major Suite was simply sublime.
Salisbury Sinfonia's next concert forms part of Ringwood Festival, on July 8, and includes Mozart's Exsultate, Jubilate, with soprano Julia Craig.
— Anne Morris