Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Sergio A. Mims: Two rave reviews for Chineke! Orchestra concert at St. George's in Bristol from The Guardian and Bristol 24/7

Sergio A. Mims sends two rave reviews of Chineke! Orchestra:

Conductor Jonathon Heyward drew poised playing from the Chineke players. Photograph: Jeremy Ayres Fischer  

The Guardian

Chineke! Orchestra/Heyward review – spirited and stylish performances 

St George’s, Bristol Jonathon Heyward inspired poised playing while the 2016 BBC Young Musician winner Sheku Kanneh-Mason was a fearless and expressive soloist

Rian Evans

Monday April 24, 2017

St George’s honours its patron saint in concert every 23 April, but this evening will go down as one of its most celebratory, with the first appearance of the Chineke! Orchestra outside London. Appearing in chamber orchestra form, Chineke! gives a platform to black and ethnic-minority musicians, and it was a neat move to open with a work by the Guadeloupe-born Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, who was roughly the contemporary of Mozart. The overture to his opera L’Amant Anonyme, in three-movement sinfonia style, was given real rhythmic spark to point up the melodic charm.
Many of the enthusiastic audience had clearly come to see the BBC Young Musician winner, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. They were rewarded with a stylish performance of Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C (Hob VIIb/1). In the central adagio, Kanneh-Mason balanced expressive singing tone with careful, instinctive, dynamic shading. He took the allegro molto at fearless, breakneck speed, the passage work impressively controlled. A solo encore was further testimony to his prodigious gift, and his arrangement of a traditional Jewish song was plangent and subtly elaborated.

 


Review: Chineke! Orchestra, St George’s


Ngaio Anyia, April 24, 2017

After speaking to Chi-Chi Nwanoku I was more than a little excited to watch Chineke! Orchestra playing music by Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint George at this special St George’s Day concert at St George’s. The composer, an illegitimate son of a French plantation owner and his black slave, has been dubbed ‘the other Mozart’ but failed to receive the same level of fame or recognition in history despite beautiful compositions.
Walking into St George’s, I felt my heart rise into my throat – I hadn’t expected to feel such a wave of emotion looking around at the most mixed audience I’d seen there ever before, not just in terms of race but also age. There was a real sense of community that I hadn’t realised I’d missed in the venue previously.
I felt relaxed sitting alone in a packed hall of people at a classical concert where the worry of feeling out of place or self-conscious may have put me off in the past – this wasn’t the case tonight. Watching the musicians take their place on the stage filled me with such pride, the widest involuntary smile spread across my face, a reaction I saw reflected by many around me.
Hearing from Chi-Chi Nwanoku that this performance was the orchestra’s first outside of London caused the audience to sigh with pride, erupting into grateful applause. Once quietened enough for her to thank the Arts Council and St George’s for welcoming Chineke! Orchestra, she introduced our soloist for the evening, Sheku Kanneh-Mason whose playing was remarkable. At only 17 years old his solo’s ached with emotion, it is no surprise he was awarded the accolade of BBC’s Young Musician of the Year – he played with the most ferocious passion and skill. We were utterly enthralled by him, so much so that when he bowed to leave, he received not one but three standing ovations and foot stamping such as I’d never experienced at St George’s.



Hearing from Chi-Chi Nwanoku that this performance was the orchestra’s first outside of London caused the audience to sigh with pride, erupting into grateful applause. Once quietened enough for her to thank the Arts Council and St George’s for welcoming Chineke! Orchestra, she introduced our soloist for the evening, Sheku Kanneh-Mason whose playing was remarkable. At only 17 years old his solo’s ached with emotion, it is no surprise he was awarded the accolade of BBC’s Young Musician of the Year – he played with the most ferocious passion and skill. We were utterly enthralled by him, so much so that when he bowed to leave, he received not one but three standing ovations and foot stamping such as I’d never experienced at St George’s.

The orchestra were flawless from the moment they began. Playing with utter conviction, there was not one musician on the stage who was not entirely connected to the music and one another, led by the most mesmerising conductor I’ve ever seen. Jonathon Heyward‘s evocative facial expressions and animated movements were matched only by his energetic and accurate gestures which so clearly guided the orchestra. Enhancing their brilliance, you could see exactly how his movements led each section through the music and the how the musicians trusted him.

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