Review: Sinfonia make finale grand

The Sinfonia put everything into making performance a feast for the ears.

This was the first time cellist Ginny Hill had forsaken bow for baton to conduct a Sinfonia concert. What's more, she did it in truly grand style - with a meaty programme that continued the admirable trend of recent years, towards more adventurous, Sinfonia-stretching and (let's be honest) exciting repertoire.

It seems very unfair such boldness has been "rewarded" by a fall in the orchestra's complement. Having peaked last year at 50, throughout this year it's been only 35. Undaunted, the Sinfonia persisted in their daring, and in this, their final 2015 concert, even dared to go up another gear.

Opening the second half, Mozart's 35th Symphony was the exception to prove this proposition. With bold, punchy tuttis and alluringly phrased quieter passages aplenty, it should have been wonderful. Sadly, everything, especially the presto finale, was bogged down by lethargic - I presume "safe"? - tempi.

Smetana's Vltava came as a startling contrast. From the sparkling outset, the music flowed freely, with a singing main tune, a pleasantly sprung folksy dance - and Ginny rightly traded sound-quality for roaring noise.

Something similar applied to the other "watery" work, Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture, where Ginny's priority was characterising the episodes. Sweetly blended sounds in the swelling, glinting start and subsequent reflective passages yielded to climaxes that sounded somewhat strident, but made their points admirably.

Curiously, the "main" work, Schubert's Eighth Symphony (Unfinished), batted at No2. Instead of softening the edges in deference to Schubert's nice tunes, Ginny aimed at the unvarnished truth, that this astonishing music is a battlefield, by turns dark, eruptive, menacing, explosive, anguished, fearful, even horrific - which severely threatens those nice tunes.

Can I leave you to figure out the psychological import?

When push comes to shove, making music should always take priority. The Sinfonia put everything into making this music. The nice tunes sounded sweet; otherwise, it wasn't pretty playing, but it was pretty tremendous playing.

The details

A Symphonic Feast - Mendelssohn, Schubert, Susato, Mozart, Smetana, Williams, Shostakovich.

Northland Sinfonia

Virginia Hill (conductor)

November 22, Forum North