A genuine delight to watch
The chance to watch a full orchestra live is a real treat, not to be missed… although if you do miss a date with the Manchester based Hallé, they usually squeeze in a few Nottingham dates annually on their hectic live schedule, where they are big fans of the Concert Hall and it's acoustics. Great news for classical music fans in the city.
Having seen The Hallé several times in the last twelve months I can tell you that this is a talented group of performers, performing in perfect sync with one another both mentally and musically. Their flawless performances are a genuine delight to watch and no matter what they are performing - be it scores from movies, or classical music - they’re fantastic. With the famous Sir Mark Elder at the helm, The Hallé’s principle conductor, it's always a safe bet. Mark has held the role since since September 2000, when he replaced Kent Nagano. Elder has now held the top spot at The Hallé for longer than any other conductor, apart from Sir John Barbirolli (1943-1970) and Sir Charles Hallé himself (1858-1895). Quite an impressive achievement.
Tonight’s performance of Berlioz and Wagner may be less accessible than movie scores but they are still wonderful entertainment. And Stephen Hough - tonight’s star performer plays with skill, dexterity and passion on an absolutely wonderful, newly made, never-before-played, grand piano… which he jokingly told the audience that he wished he could take home.
Having now been to several orchestral performances, I would like to make a cultural observation… if there were one thing that I’d like to see at the Nottingham Classics concerts it would be some younger audience members… it feels as though in 10 years these concerts will be a thing of the past as the majority of the audience are made up of people in their 60s, 70s and 80s. Its clear younger generations need to be introduced to classical music if it's to survive. It would be great to see some schools and young musicians in there to be as impressed as I am.
The Hallé performed as part of Nottingham Classics International Concert Season on Friday 25 January 2019
Conductor: Sir Mark Elder
Piano: Stephen Hough
Berlioz - Benvenuto Cellini: Overture
Saint-Saëns - Piano Concerto No.5
Wagner - Lohengrin: Prelude to Act I
Wagner - Lohengrin: Prelude to Act III
Wagner - Die Meistersinger: Suite
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
