Review: Edinburgh Youth Orchestra at Perth Concert Hall
Jul 15 2008 by Peter Rutterford

EDINBURGH Youth Orchestra returned to Perth Concert Hall as part of their 2008 Summer Tour, which this year also visits Dublin and Limerick.

Their programme of popular works featured two superb young soloists and was conducted once again by their mentor Garry Walker.

The visit to Ireland was no doubt why they opened their concert with Malcolm Arnold’s Four Irish Dances. These are the shortest of Arnold’s sets of dances based on the British Isles and perhaps lack some of the sparkle and orchestral fireworks of the others. The Dances combine Celtic rhythms in the jaunty first and last dances, which contrast with the more melancholic melodies of the second and third. The most developed dance is the final jig, which gave the brass section in particular a chance to shine, but the whole orchestra played with enthusiasm and vigour and demonstrated their technical ability as well as their excellent tonal qualities.

The Irish theme continued with the young Dublin soloist Sophie Cashell, who gave a superbly polished performance of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto. The opening is perhaps the most familiar of all concertos and from the outset the astonishing power of Sophie Cashell was evident. The winner of the BBC2’s 2007 Classical Star competition, she gave a tremendously exciting and committed performance of this technically difficult and formidable masterpiece.

The opening movement was played with great depth of feeling and style. The difficult technical challenges were played with complete confidence, particularly the double octave passages, which showed wonderful bravura playing from the soloist and the regular changes of tempo and mood were handled with great aplomb throughout. Garry Walker ensured the orchestra were always in accord with the soloist and although some of the accompaniment was a little ragged at times, the tutti passages from the full orchestra were excellent.

The delightful slow movement was given a lovely introduction from the solo flute before the piano took over. Here Sophie Cashell gave a mature and thoughtful interpretation that brought out the delightful melodies and tranquil mood before the central faster section showed the tremendous virtuosity required from the soloist.

The final movement is full of spirited Russian themes and these were exploited to the full with terrifically rhythmic playing from the soloist as the movement danced along. This was a commanding performance by a young soloist and Garry Walker and the EYO accompanying with great flair.

The second soloist was the Livingston bassoonist Karen Geoghegan, who was the runner up in the Classical Star competition. She played Weber’s Andante and Hungarian Rondo, a graceful and articulate piece written in the air and variations style. The opening was beautifully played with a real bel canto tone from the bassoon and the variations had a fluent and effortless technique that made the piece sound undemanding. However, the Rondo gave the opportunity for the soloist to show her full technique with delightful playing that caught the jovial mood of the piece perfectly. This was a most enjoyable performance of this little heard work and confirmed a fine bassoonist with a great musical future.

The last piece of the concert was the ballet suite from Prokifiev’s Romeo and Juliet. The selection of seven movements demonstrated the full resources of the EYO with excellent playing from the orchestra and highlighted a number of prominent soloists including the leader Jessica Hall. All the sections had prominent parts with the woodwind producing some refined solos whilst the brass led weight when required. The horn section in particular were excellent as were the trumpets who led the final broad theme that concluded the last movement with a breathtaking broad sweep and earned the orchestra a deserved ovation from the audience.

Once again it is evident the tremendous wealth of young musical talent available in Scotland and we eagerly await the concert by the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland when they come to Perth at the end of the month.