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4207 Orchestras & Conductors
At school we used to be taken every year to hear the Liverpool Philharmonic orchestra. Thus, my love of classical music started with hearing the ‘Overture to the Wasps’ by Vaughan Williams. It still love its sensuousness, as it seems to almost wash over me. Indeed, I like the two extremes; either pure romantic, for the 19th and early 20th century music, or pure musicologically correct for earlier and later works.
At Imperial we went to concerts by all the leading orchestras; including the Halle, London Philharmonic (LPO) and Philharmonia – though, even in those days these were less than consistent. Our favourite orchestras were, though, the BBC Symphony and – our special love – the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO). The latter was at its peak, having musicians such as Barry Tuckwell (horn) and Gervais de Payer (clarinet) in its line up.
We followed a number of conductors in this earlier period. Colin Davies and Pierino Gamba were our favourites amongst the also rans. At the time Otto Klemperer, usually conducting the Philharmonia, was the old master. But he was very old and, leaning against a high stool as much as sitting on it, he was somewhat pompous; and his music was, I thought, rather leaden. He was the leading promoter of Brahms, but it wasn’t until much later that I came to like this composer. On the other hand, I do remember one special event. After the interval in one concert, Klemperer struck up the orchestra and was about ten minutes in the piece when he looked thunderstruck at one element of the orchestra and stopped the performance. Amidst the chaos which ensued, one very shamefaced musician crept from off-stage round the back of the orchestra to where he should have been – presumably he had failed to join them at the start. After another stare which might have killed some, Klemperer took them right back to the beginning of the piece again.
The revelation, however, came with Pierre Boulez. He was both a composer, of 12 note music, and a conductor; as well as later heading up the French Modern Music Academy. We were at his first performance in London, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, though he later also played with the LSO. It was fantastic. The Times the next day rated it as the best concert of the decade. Thereafter all other conductors paled into insignificance. His control over the orchestra was phenomenal. Every note was perfect, and perfectly timed. He was also very adventurous. I remember him playing a piece of Mozart at half speed, simply to successfully demonstrate that it sounded just like Beethoven. We went to every one of his concerts (with both the BBC and the LSO), but to far fewer of others – since they jarred in comparison.
After Sarah came along in 1964 we abandoned classical music, and we didn’t even restart it in the 1980s. It was only with the arrival of the full MKCO – the Milton City Keynes Orchestra – that we restarted. Now we go to every one of their performances.
Its conductor is Hillary Whetton Davies, and occasionally Sean Edwards. Apart from Boulez, although relatively unknown he is the just about the best conductor I have supported. The orchestra is made up entirely from ‘session’ musicians, and often has a very different set of players (though there are some key regulars), but now even the best orchestras in the UK may have less than fifty dedicated players. It typically is relatively small in numbers, with 50-60 players against the 70-80 in larger ones (as the MK Chamber Orchestra, it was originally even smaller), but that helps as far as I am concerned – since I value precision above all else, and the MKCO is very precise in its playing. Hillary also manages to attract very good soloists, and to get the sponsorship from local business to make this possible. To add to all this, we always go to the pre-concert talk (given by Adrian Boynton, with whom Pat sings) which has helped me understand the intricacies of classical music.
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