MUSIC: A concert that left us on the edge of our seats

ANASTASIA BELL reviews a stunning orchestral performance which RGS music students enjoyed in the magnificent surroundings of a world-famous concert hall

I WAS lucky enough to be among the group of forty music students from Years 10 to 13 who enjoyed a performance from the Hallé Orchestra at one of the world’s leading concert halls, the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

Despite the hour-and-a-half-long drive and stop for lunch we had some spare time when we arrived to look around the iconic international concert venue, which cost £42m to build in in the 1990s and is home to the 165-year-old Hallé Orchestra as well as serving as the main concert venue for the BBC Philharmonic.

The hall, dominated by its magnificent, world-famous pipe organ, quickly filled up as some members of the orchestra began to file in. As the lights dimmed there was applause as conductor Kerem Hasan came onto the stage.

The room fell silent as the orchestra began to play the first piece.

We began with a performance of Andromède, a symphonic poem by Augusta Holmès. It begins with a rousing and powerful brass solo before falling into a hopeful and energetic string lead melody. It does an excellent job of creating atmosphere with moments of solo quickly followed by sections with the entire orchestra. It really showed how the instrumentation of a piece as well as many other factors can create a sense of movement and joy in a person.

It was followed by Mozart’s Flute Concerto No1. The solo flautist, Amy Yule, was virtuosic and incredibly talented as she played the main tune over the rest of the orchestra. The piece was beautifully written, as can be expected of Mozart, with intricate movement from the flute and the rest of the orchestra. This piece was an excellent presentation of the melody and accompaniment form, which GCSE students studied last year.

The second half of the concert was a performance of Sheherazade, a piece written to represent the story of a girl who tells old tales to a prince to protect her own life. The piece uses themes to represent the characters of Scheherazade and the Prince as well as various feelings and emotions which gives an insight into the power that a strong theme has to create atmosphere in a piece, a skill very helpful to composition. Sheherazade is also one of the pieces A-level students studied this year and has many moments of tension that leave the audience on the edge of their seats.

After the concert, we went to the Hard Rock Café, where we enjoyed a meal and the rock-themed décor. There was a lively atmosphere, and everyone had a great time.