REVIEW
TITLE: Orchestra of Opera North featuring Peter Donohoe
VENUE: Huddersfield Town Hall
REVIEW William Marshall
THE greatness of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 6, the Pathetique, has never been in doubt, of course.
But we were amply reminded of its extraordinary qualities when the Orchestra of Opera North, under Dutch conductor Jac van Steen, concluded this concert with the work.
And the first half had largely consisted of another mighty Russian offering, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 3 in which the soloist was none other than Peter Donohoe.
It was hardly a surprise then that this concert – billed as a Russian Spectacular – was exceptionally well-received by the large audience.
There is something particularly magisterial about Donohoe’s command of his instrument and its repertoire. We are assured that the Rachmaninov concerto, ever since its composition, has been noted for its fiendish technical difficulties and our ears will obviously confirm the fact.
But when one hears and sees Peter Donohoe perform the work it as if those difficulties melt away.
This might well be an illusion concealing an awesome amount of dedication, hard work and artistry, but in this Town Hall performance, Donohoe enabled us to concentrate on the music rather than marvel at the virtuosity.
The orchestral playing in the Rachmaninov was first class too, but it was in Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique that the Opera North players, section by section, came into their own.
We were reminded by the programme writer that the original Russian meaning of the symphony’s title was impassioned and we certainly got plenty of that, especially in the shattering climaxes that are a feature of the work.
But there was grace and elegance in the second movement with its unusual five-four time signature and, in the third movement, the conductor and orchestra brought out all of the strange irony of the well-known marching tune.
