Big Day Out

Another big outing for Maruki at Albert Hall. This concert featured two symphonies as well as an overture and another piece. Maruki is never one to cop out! The symphonies were Beethoven 4 and Dvorak 8. The other pieces were Wagner Meistersingers Prelude to Act 1 and Saint-Saens Dance macabre. Nothing too easy and some big and satisfying blowing. But my thoughts went more to some delicious slower movements. Beethoven mvt.2 and Dvorak mvt.3 were gloriously beautiful even if we may not have done them their full justice. Listening back to my recording does not quite match my preparatory listening to Berlin Phil or Tafelmusik but that's the nature of a community orchestra. And that's is not to say it's a wasted play. Maruki is a wonderful opportunity to enter into the scores of a range of repertoire works and there's nothing like playing a work to get close to it. And such a pleasure when something just clicks, like the introductory trumpets in the first movement of Dvorak, or a perfect horn solo line that appeared, where?, somewhere in Beethoven. And it's a good laugh to take on the challenging lines and perhaps cover a not-quite-perfect performance. I chuckled over several in the first movement of Beethoven and some rabidly quick repeated phrases in the forth movement (they ask basses to play this?). But, on the other hand, there's great joy in our quick, prominent and extended melodic lines towards the end of Meistersingers, or the power and stability that underlying rhythmic basses can give to an ensemble, as in Beethoven mvt.2. Maruki gives exposure to some very great music.

Maruki Orchestra was directed by John Gould (conductor) with Melvyn Cann (concert master) and Peter Ellis (violin) as soloist on SS. Maruki played Wagner, Beethoven, Saint-Saens and Dvorak at Albert Hall. The bottom end was Jennifer Groom and Eric Pozza (basses).