THE Cleveland Chamber Orchestra has been entertaining music-lovers in the area for more than 30 years.
Its most recent concert clearly showed that Sunday afternoon is a popular time as it attracted a sizeable audience. The church provided an intimate setting for this excellent locally-based orchestra.
Under the expert guidance of conductor Tim Jackson and leader Dan Hands, the orchestra produced sparkling and polished performances of works by Rossini, Roussel, Respighi and Haydn.
The orchestra’s commitment to introducing audiences to rarelyheard music was evident in the selection of the ballet suite The Spider’s Feast, by the French composer, Albert Roussel.
A spoken introduction with musical examples to guide the audience through the storyline was a great help in making this intriguing music easier to understand. There was characterful playing from all the principal winds, with some dazzling playing by flute and piccolo.
The orchestra had fun imitating chickens, doves, cuckoo and nightingale in Respighi’s charming suite The Birds. Rossini’s overture The Italian Girl in Algiers featured expressive oboe playing in the slow introduction followed by an exciting dash to the finish, and the strings were stylish and welldrilled in a lively rendering of Haydn’s Clock symphony.
The orchestra can be heard next on Sunday, May 11, in a programme of favourite classics for string orchestra in the music room at Preston Park.
Anna Jackson
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