A wonderful flight of fantasy
★★★★I
FOR the two hours or so that this concert lasted we were away with the fairies, carried on their wings to worlds of wonder that only music can conjour up.
The Symphony Orchestra of India brought its own enchanting vision to the music, playing with a carefully crafted precision which provided the essential launchpad for flights of fancy and imaginative creativity.
The first piece on the programme was the overture to Weber’s opera, Oberon, the king of the fairies in Medieval and Renaissance literature who is best known as a character in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
This beautifully structured piece was played with delicacy and finesse, but conductor Martyn Brabbins also ensured the dramatic episodes were weaved into what was 10 minutes of enthralling music.
Marat Bisengaliev, founding music director of the orchestra, was the soloist in the Violin Concerto No 3, by Camille Saint-Saens. His close relationship with the musicians was harnessed by Brabbins to produce a lyrical and enthralling performance.
The stormy Allegro non troppo movement grabbed one’s attention, but it was in the contrasting central Andantino quasi allegretto movement that we were back in fairy-tale land as the soloist sings a soothing barcarolle over gentle string accompaniment.
Bisengaliev’s did indeed soothe and enchant in this movement before bringing us back to reality in the Allegro non troppo finale.
For his encore, Bisengaliev was joined by Shirish Malhotra, a flautist with the orchestra to play a piece by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins. Malhotra played an instrument called a Banzuri which gave a sort of mysticism to the music that would beguile and bewitch any fairy.
The final piece on this fascinating programme was Scheherazade, by Rimsky-Korsakov, based on One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales.
Rimsky’s principal aim with the piece was to create “a kaleidoscope of fairy-tale images and designs of Oriental character.”
The composer’s vision was wonderfully realised by the orchestra under the enthusiastic direction of Martyn Brabbins.
The undulating waves were brought to life in The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship, while the orchestra’s interpretation of The Story of the Kalendar Prince and the Young Prince and Princess had the charm and enchantment which had graced the entire evening.