I attended another BBC Summer Invitation Concert at the Whitla Hall in Belfast, last night. It was the second one within a week, and it turned out to be most enjoyable. Most of the seats were taken.
The first piece, Sir Charles Stanford's Piano Concerto Number Two, was played by the talented young Irish pianist, Finghin Collins. Mr Collins wore full evening dress - white tie - and this was an accomplished and compelling performance; he really made the Ulster Orchestra's Steinway concert grand piano work to its full potential. Mr Collins is expressive too, while he tickles the ivories.
After the interval, we were treated to Vltava by Bedrich Smetana. Here was an ethereal performance by the orchestra conducted by an erstwhile east Belfast man, Kenneth Montgomery. In fact, Mr Montgomery hailed originally from Wandsworth Parade. His style seems informal, preferring not to use a baton and wearing a slightly prosaic lounge suit. Of course he's a well-respected musician with an international reputation.
The next invitation concert is in Lisburn, next week; I'll give it a miss I think.
Apologies for hijacking the comments to this post – but are you aware of the Belfast Jazz and Blues Festival being held this month? I don’t think it’s getting much publicity so I scanned a flier on to my blog for anyone who might be interested.
ReplyDeleteSlightly different style of music from the Ulster Orchestra but variety, as they say, is the spice of life. Personally I love both types of music.
No I wasn't aware of it. Must check it out. The Dirty Duck, I seem to recall, is into Jazz sessions etc.
ReplyDeleteTim