Concert Reviews
Maidstone Symphony Orchestra Susan Legg - Mezzo Soprano Brian Wright conductor Mote Hall, Maidstone, 18 October 2025
Maidstone Symphony Orchestra
Maxim Calver cello
Brian Wright conductor
Mote Hall, Maidstone, 17 May 2025
Elgar’s last major work, the 1919 Cello Concerto, is one of those gut-wrenchingly beautiful pieces which simply can’t be heard too often. And
Maxim Calver, in his fourth appearance with MSO, dug out plenty of the soulful anguish and autumnal sadness which the piece demands while also
infusing it with rich tonal warmth. There was a spirited account of the scherzo
marked by scrupulous, visible co-ordination between Calver and Wright, and
an adagio so sumptuously expressive that it almost hurt. Yes, I’m not
surprised to be informed by Wright in his introduction that Calver is “going
places fast.”
Telling the audience, but doing it with unusual poise, that he doesn’t normally speak before encores and that Bach is, in his view, too personal to play in public, Calver explained that he wanted to dedicate part of a Bach suite to David Watkin. Watkin was, he said, “a titan of the cello industry” and had died, aged only 60 earlier that week. He then played the Bach with loving precision which added extra poignancy.
Calver’s appearance was preceded by Wagner’s 1840 Faust Overture which was new to me and, I suspect, to most of the audience. Cue for lots of Germanic drama in minor keys and brooding string work. And there aren’t many concerts which open with a tuba solo: bravo Andy Bridges. The percussive interjections from all sections require a lot of precision and, under the very dynamic guest leader Christian Halstead, they mostly got it.
And so to the joyful glories of Sibelius’s Symphony No 5 (1915). As always with Sibelius there are an awful lot of string notes beneath the big brass statements and they were delivered with aplomb in the first movement which also brought us some very accomplished flute work and fine timp playing from Keith Price. I admired the cleanness of the pizzicato passages in the andante too.
Interestingly, Wright (and, I think, Halstead) allowed me to hear elements in the last movement which are usually submerged in the texture. Normally it’s the grandeur of the horns you hear but at this performance my attention was also drawn by counter melodies in the upper strings – far more than what string players ruefully call “scrubbing” or “knitting” - and that was fascinating. And full marks to Wright and the orchestra for those final, dramatic chords which were as crisply rich as I’ve ever heard them.
A resounding end to another good season.
Telling the audience, but doing it with unusual poise, that he doesn’t normally speak before encores and that Bach is, in his view, too personal to play in public, Calver explained that he wanted to dedicate part of a Bach suite to David Watkin. Watkin was, he said, “a titan of the cello industry” and had died, aged only 60 earlier that week. He then played the Bach with loving precision which added extra poignancy.
Calver’s appearance was preceded by Wagner’s 1840 Faust Overture which was new to me and, I suspect, to most of the audience. Cue for lots of Germanic drama in minor keys and brooding string work. And there aren’t many concerts which open with a tuba solo: bravo Andy Bridges. The percussive interjections from all sections require a lot of precision and, under the very dynamic guest leader Christian Halstead, they mostly got it.
And so to the joyful glories of Sibelius’s Symphony No 5 (1915). As always with Sibelius there are an awful lot of string notes beneath the big brass statements and they were delivered with aplomb in the first movement which also brought us some very accomplished flute work and fine timp playing from Keith Price. I admired the cleanness of the pizzicato passages in the andante too.
Interestingly, Wright (and, I think, Halstead) allowed me to hear elements in the last movement which are usually submerged in the texture. Normally it’s the grandeur of the horns you hear but at this performance my attention was also drawn by counter melodies in the upper strings – far more than what string players ruefully call “scrubbing” or “knitting” - and that was fascinating. And full marks to Wright and the orchestra for those final, dramatic chords which were as crisply rich as I’ve ever heard them.
A resounding end to another good season.
Review by Susan Elkin
susanelkin.co.uk
Maidstone Symphony Orchestra
22 March 2025
Mote Hall, Maidstone
The third overture (of four) which Beethoven wrote for Fidelio, his only opera –
Leonora No 3 – is a pleasingly colourful concert opener because it tells the
story so clearly. In this performance the trombones set the scene nicely in the
opening dungeon scene, the off-stage trumpet nailed the triumphant drama
and I admired the accuracy of the high speed string work which precedes the
joyful ending.
Then came the centrepiece of the evening: Tchaikovsky’s flamboyant Violin Concerto and soloist Callum Smart whose modest demeanour belies his phenomenal technique. His first entry was breathtakingly mellifluous as he delivered every note with all the compelling warmth the piece demands. Wright meanwhile balanced the orchestra so that we heard a coherent conversation, including very incisive pizzicato, between soloist and players. Smart looks at the orchestra and listens attentively when he’s not playing himself and that’s very telling. The show-stopping cadenza was stunning too. How on earth does Smart find all those climactic harmonics and make then resonate so tunefully?
The tender shift into G minor for the Canzonetta movement was, as ever, a beautiful contrast: silky playing from Smart, some delightful flute work and plenty of tension in the link passage into the Finale. Smart and Wright emphasised the dynamic and rhythmic contrasts in the latter and packed the duet between soloist and orchestra with excitement. And if it wasn’t always quite together then it didn’t detract from the infectious joie-de-vivre. Smart’s impressive encore was his own arrangement of Amazing Grace – a mini masterclass in double stopping, split chords and imaginative harmonies.
Dvorak’s Symphony No 7 is always a melodic delight and MSO, now fully warmed up, more than did it justice on this occasion from the bravura brass work in the opening movement to the grandiloquence of the final page. Wright ensured there was gentle beauty in the string playing in the Poco adagio especially when we reached the sublime cello melody and I have rarely heard this movement brought to such a sensitive conclusion. Also noteworthy was the elegantly negotiated counterpoint in the Scherzo which included strongly supportive timp work and delightful flute playing in the “trio” passage. Wright chose, rather refreshingly, to exaggerate the tempo changes in the Finale more than some conductors do and built plenty of mystery into that wonderful section which I always think sounds like theme music for a faux sinister comedy drama. Good old Dvorak.
Thanks, MSO, for yet another enjoyable concert.
Then came the centrepiece of the evening: Tchaikovsky’s flamboyant Violin Concerto and soloist Callum Smart whose modest demeanour belies his phenomenal technique. His first entry was breathtakingly mellifluous as he delivered every note with all the compelling warmth the piece demands. Wright meanwhile balanced the orchestra so that we heard a coherent conversation, including very incisive pizzicato, between soloist and players. Smart looks at the orchestra and listens attentively when he’s not playing himself and that’s very telling. The show-stopping cadenza was stunning too. How on earth does Smart find all those climactic harmonics and make then resonate so tunefully?
The tender shift into G minor for the Canzonetta movement was, as ever, a beautiful contrast: silky playing from Smart, some delightful flute work and plenty of tension in the link passage into the Finale. Smart and Wright emphasised the dynamic and rhythmic contrasts in the latter and packed the duet between soloist and orchestra with excitement. And if it wasn’t always quite together then it didn’t detract from the infectious joie-de-vivre. Smart’s impressive encore was his own arrangement of Amazing Grace – a mini masterclass in double stopping, split chords and imaginative harmonies.
Dvorak’s Symphony No 7 is always a melodic delight and MSO, now fully warmed up, more than did it justice on this occasion from the bravura brass work in the opening movement to the grandiloquence of the final page. Wright ensured there was gentle beauty in the string playing in the Poco adagio especially when we reached the sublime cello melody and I have rarely heard this movement brought to such a sensitive conclusion. Also noteworthy was the elegantly negotiated counterpoint in the Scherzo which included strongly supportive timp work and delightful flute playing in the “trio” passage. Wright chose, rather refreshingly, to exaggerate the tempo changes in the Finale more than some conductors do and built plenty of mystery into that wonderful section which I always think sounds like theme music for a faux sinister comedy drama. Good old Dvorak.
Thanks, MSO, for yet another enjoyable concert.
Review by Susan Elkin
susanelkin.co.uk
Maidstone Symphony Orchestra
Mote, Hall Maidstone
Conductor: Brian Wright
Violinist: Mayumi Kanagawa
30 November 2024
Ralph Vaughan Williams’s tried and tested overture to The Wasps made a cheerful
opener in this high-octane concert. The muted string “buzzing” at the beginning
was admirably incisive and Brian Wright ensured that we heard plenty of melody
especially from horn and flute.
Much less familiar, and arguably more challenging for the audience, was William Walton’s technically demanding 1939 Violin Concerto which, I have to confess, has never been a work I warm to. It was, however, charismatically played here by diminutive, smiling and immensely talented Mayumi Kanagawa who gets a fabulous tone from the Wilhelmj, Stadivarius instrument which she has on loan from Nippon Music Foundation. It shines like a well polished conker and has a voice like a timeless, show-stopping diva.
I liked the brisk crispness Kanagawa brought to the second movement and her sumptuous double stopping in the vivace. She has an engaging way of leaning, lovingly into the high notes. And her bowing is elegantly sinuous.
For her encore she played an arrangement by Jascha Heifitz (for whom the preceding concerto was written) of the spiritual Deep River – very legato, soulfully beautiful and a complete contrast.
I never hear Berlioz’s programmatic Symphonie Fantastique (1830) without reflecting incredulously that it came just six years after Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and two years after Schubert’s death. The adjective “ground breaking” is an absurdly belittling understatement. It is, moreover, full of challenges which Wright and MSO rose to with aplomb. For example we got tender attention to dynamics along with some fine trumpet and timp work in the opening movement and the harps in the second movement ball “scene” were delightful. Wright played up the drama and all that eerie mystery in the third movement with some beautiful playing from the four bassoons. The timp solo (two sets) is always, as here, an arresting development. Then, after a deliciously menacing account of March to the Scaffold, MSO really went to town with the exciting piccolo screaming over lower wind in the finale and the drama of the tubular bells.
This concert felt like a musical roller-coaster. The Berlioz is gruelling to play (and conduct) but once again, they pulled it off in spades. Congratulations to them all.
Much less familiar, and arguably more challenging for the audience, was William Walton’s technically demanding 1939 Violin Concerto which, I have to confess, has never been a work I warm to. It was, however, charismatically played here by diminutive, smiling and immensely talented Mayumi Kanagawa who gets a fabulous tone from the Wilhelmj, Stadivarius instrument which she has on loan from Nippon Music Foundation. It shines like a well polished conker and has a voice like a timeless, show-stopping diva.
I liked the brisk crispness Kanagawa brought to the second movement and her sumptuous double stopping in the vivace. She has an engaging way of leaning, lovingly into the high notes. And her bowing is elegantly sinuous.
For her encore she played an arrangement by Jascha Heifitz (for whom the preceding concerto was written) of the spiritual Deep River – very legato, soulfully beautiful and a complete contrast.
I never hear Berlioz’s programmatic Symphonie Fantastique (1830) without reflecting incredulously that it came just six years after Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and two years after Schubert’s death. The adjective “ground breaking” is an absurdly belittling understatement. It is, moreover, full of challenges which Wright and MSO rose to with aplomb. For example we got tender attention to dynamics along with some fine trumpet and timp work in the opening movement and the harps in the second movement ball “scene” were delightful. Wright played up the drama and all that eerie mystery in the third movement with some beautiful playing from the four bassoons. The timp solo (two sets) is always, as here, an arresting development. Then, after a deliciously menacing account of March to the Scaffold, MSO really went to town with the exciting piccolo screaming over lower wind in the finale and the drama of the tubular bells.
This concert felt like a musical roller-coaster. The Berlioz is gruelling to play (and conduct) but once again, they pulled it off in spades. Congratulations to them all.
Review by Susan Elkin
susanelkin.co.uk
Maidstone Symphony Orchestra / 12 October 2024
Mote Hall, Maidstone Leisure Centre
Conductor: Brian Wright
Pianist: Ariel Lanyi
This concert was a neat chronological programme starting with Brahms
(1880) and ending with Prokofiev (1944) taking in Rachmaninov (1927) on the
way. Much of the work was dauntingly challenging so it made an impressive
opening to the 2024/5 season.
It took a few bars for the Academic Festival Overture to cohere properly but thereafter it was a pleasing performance. The big brass melody was very slow but the off-beat passages surged along. And all those frantic string scale passages down the final page were delivered with commendable clarity as the brass belted out Gaudeamus igitur.
There are, of course, some beautiful passages in Rachmaninov’s Fourth Piano Concerto, played here with stunning sensitivity by Ariel Lanyi but in general it lacks the easy appeal of the composer’s other three. For me – I am mildly synaesthetic – anything in G minor is slate blue and the piano and horn duet work in the first movement was definitely just that, with Lanyi catching every mood. He gave us a schmaltzy solo introduction to the Largo and Wright ensured that the muted, legato string work picked that up. And then it was seamlessly but dramatically (nice cymbal work) into the Allegro. Lanyi is certainly an electrifying player to watch: there are thousands of notes in many rhythms and moods in the last movement but he nailed them with panache,
Telling the audience that he thought it was time for something calmer, Lanyi then played Chopin’s Nocturne in C sharp minor for his encore and it was delivered with great delicacy. You could see and feel (but not hear, thank goodness) him breathing the music so it flowed with elegant warmth.
There is certainly plenty for everyone to do in Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony, the scoring for which includes five percussionists plus timps, double brass, piano and harp. It’s not the most familiar of Prokofiev’s symphonies and it was clearly a new challenge for many of the players. I could sense careful counting amongst the furrowed brows. But it came off resoundingly well. Highlights included fine underpinning from trombone and bass drum in the heavy statements in the first movement and the lightness achieved by the whole orchestra in the Allegro marcato. I also admired the compelling rhythms sustained by piano and tuba, the dynamic contrasts in the Adagio and the lovely playing of the clarinet melody in the final movement. And excellent work from all those accomplished percussionists made the whole work feel pretty exciting.
It took a few bars for the Academic Festival Overture to cohere properly but thereafter it was a pleasing performance. The big brass melody was very slow but the off-beat passages surged along. And all those frantic string scale passages down the final page were delivered with commendable clarity as the brass belted out Gaudeamus igitur.
There are, of course, some beautiful passages in Rachmaninov’s Fourth Piano Concerto, played here with stunning sensitivity by Ariel Lanyi but in general it lacks the easy appeal of the composer’s other three. For me – I am mildly synaesthetic – anything in G minor is slate blue and the piano and horn duet work in the first movement was definitely just that, with Lanyi catching every mood. He gave us a schmaltzy solo introduction to the Largo and Wright ensured that the muted, legato string work picked that up. And then it was seamlessly but dramatically (nice cymbal work) into the Allegro. Lanyi is certainly an electrifying player to watch: there are thousands of notes in many rhythms and moods in the last movement but he nailed them with panache,
Telling the audience that he thought it was time for something calmer, Lanyi then played Chopin’s Nocturne in C sharp minor for his encore and it was delivered with great delicacy. You could see and feel (but not hear, thank goodness) him breathing the music so it flowed with elegant warmth.
There is certainly plenty for everyone to do in Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony, the scoring for which includes five percussionists plus timps, double brass, piano and harp. It’s not the most familiar of Prokofiev’s symphonies and it was clearly a new challenge for many of the players. I could sense careful counting amongst the furrowed brows. But it came off resoundingly well. Highlights included fine underpinning from trombone and bass drum in the heavy statements in the first movement and the lightness achieved by the whole orchestra in the Allegro marcato. I also admired the compelling rhythms sustained by piano and tuba, the dynamic contrasts in the Adagio and the lovely playing of the clarinet melody in the final movement. And excellent work from all those accomplished percussionists made the whole work feel pretty exciting.
Review by Susan Elkin
susanelkin.co.uk