Reviews

Photo credit: Jim Wakefield (25 January 2026)

It was a very hot evening for the Chichester Symphony Orchestra’s 2026 Festival of Chichester concert. Nevertheless, there was a very positive and appreciative audience – led (in Court dress) by the High Sheriff of West Sussex, Gary Shipton, and his wife Christine.

It was good to hear the orchestra perform some contemporary music. They opened with the world premiere of a revised work by Simon Wilkins, the orchestra’s conductor and a composer in his own right. The work, Tierra del Fuego, had first been written and workshopped in 2013 but had been extensively revised as a symphonic work for this evening’s concert. The sweeping main theme quickly brought to life images of the amazing mountain and island landscapes at the tip of South America as experienced by most through television nature documentaries. The jaunty middle of the piece included a drum kit solo leading into a samba dance performed across all of the orchestra. The third and final section felt really cinematic: each of the earlier melodic ideas was reprised before final flourishes by the percussion helped end the piece exuberantly on a high note. Top marks for a rousing concert opener.

The Elgar cello concerto was more familiar territory to everyone in the audience – and the orchestra did not disappoint. It was an outstanding performance, with the orchestra accompanying the young soloist, Aglaïa Carvalho-Dubost, with great sensitivity and attention to detail. A member of the National Youth Orchestra who has also been studying the cello for the past four years at the Royal College of Music Junior Department, her playing – from memory – showed maturity and confidence as she sublimely reached into the intense emotional depth of the piece. She had a strong rapport with the conductor (who is no stranger to this concerto having performed it several times) and was visually communicative with the entire orchestra, working particularly closely with Alex Hu, the leader, to extract a truly nuanced overall performance.

There was just one work in the second half of the concert. Robert Schumann’s Symphony Number 1, also known as his Spring Symphony, had been written in just a few weeks in 1841. Richly orchestrated, the symphony opened with a clarion wake-up call from the brass before settling down to some lovely Romantic themes and melodies across each of the four movements. The audience applause at the end was evidence of their enthusiasm for the quality of this evening’s performance. It was stirring stuff which I expect will inspire people to look out for recorded performances of the symphony.

Chrissy Joseph

My companion and I were delighted to attend the new format ‘Movie Night’ concert given by Chichester Symphony Orchestra on 25 January at the earlier start time of 4pm. The stunning poster design certainly whetted the appetite with its promise of music from Out of Africa and Apollo 13 – the music for both films having been written by two of my favourite composers!  The programme featured music by a total of ten composers ranging from Elmer Berstein’s The Magnificent Seven through to Henry Mancini’s The Pink Panther and on to the theme music used for the BBC’s The Apprentice.

Playing to a nearly packed St Paul’s Church, the orchestra brought the world of Africa and traditional African melodies to life in a beguiling performance of John Barry’s lush music for the 1985 film, Out of Africa.  Barry’s consummate expertise in setting over 100 films to music, as more recent composers including John Williams and James Horner have also done, was obvious. My companion also loved the fact that composers with a local connection had not been left out. We were treated to a long-overdue live performance of By The Sleepy Lagoon by Eric Coates. The coastline in West Sussex may not seem particularly tropical in January (or at any time!) but Coates clearly thought it gave him sufficient inspiration as he walked between Selsey and Pagham in 1930. This music has been used continuously since 1942 as the theme for the long-running Desert Island Discs BBC radio programme.

It was interesting to read the detailed tribute to the late Dame Patricia Routledge DBE (the orchestra’s former Patron) in the programme and then to hear the orchestra play two collections of music composed by Richard Rodgers, including ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ from Carousel. There was much more that Dame Patricia would have enjoyed in this programme.  She would have appreciated, as we did, the comprehensive and informative descriptions about each of the pieces of music. However, whether she would have eaten any of the popcorn offered to the audience during the interval we will never know.

We were left in no doubt about the incredible range of talent in the orchestra. For instance, the haunting violin and cor anglais theme from the film Schindler’s List was played with great charm and sensitivity by Alex Hu, leader, accompanied by Rebecca Hancock and the wider orchestra.  This piece really pulled an emotional punch and there were quite a few people moved to tears by it.

The impressive array of agility across the whole orchestra was also apparent as the players launched into the final piece in the concert – John Philip Sousa’s ever-popular Liberty Bell march. This had previously been performed in last summer’s concert but was brought back for Movie Night as it had been used as the theme tune for the BBC’s Monty Python’s Flying Circus television programme between 1969-1974. There was the usual mad but controlled dash to the finish – with the slightly out of tune ship’s bell
adding its own decorative flourish to round off a splendid evening.

Chrissy Joseph

Read the review on Southern Classical

An orchestra at lunchtime is a special treat and putting together the annual dates with organist Charles Harrison and the CSO was neat planning. Chichester Cathedral has a number of French connections, not least with the Poulenc Organ Concerto, and so we were French throughout.

The woodwind and harp made for a floating En Bateau and further movements in Debussy’s Petite Suite with soft pizzicato strings, into the serene perambulations of the Cortège and supported by the horns in the airy, light-filled Menuet. The Ballet, though, changed up a gear as if possessed by Aaron Copland and a heavier rhythmic charge.

Next, Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte unfolded with beguiling solemnity under Simon Wilkins’s calm direction. In the front few rows at least, the CSO always sounds immaculately balanced and it achieved all the sensual dignity of this gorgeous lament.

But perhaps the Poulenc was the big story. Dark and imposing from the start with low strings and timpani underscoring Charles’s arresting sound, the higher strings shivered at a quicker tempo. With distant echoes of Bach and Buxtehude, it was really more discontinuous than any such thing from the C17th or C18th with its never settled mood. It worried along through portents and their subdued aftermath, hinted at something more military before cool, austere reflection. And just when it seemed that was how it might be going to end, it ended with a bang. Sometimes it can be a benefit not to have done any homework and thus not know what to expect. One can only hear a piece for the first time once and ‘live’ is the best way to do it.

The concert was dedicated to the memory of Patricia Routledge, supporter and patron of both the orchestra and the cathedral. It made for a fine musical bouquet.

David Green

Read the review on Southern Classical

Please pass on to members of the CSO and conductor Simon Wilkins my congratulations on yesterday’s superb concert at the Cathedral. I don’t know how, but I seem to have got through my life thus far without encountering the lovely Debussy Petite Suite, which opened the proceedings. It was beautifully played and provided a wonderful opening to the programme. The concluding Poulenc, of course, was the highlight of the occasion and was magnificently performed by Charles on the organ together with the orchestra. The balance between the organ and the band was perfect, as was the co-ordination of sound between the players and Charles – no mean feat bearing in mind the logistics of the distance between the two . All credit goes to Simon for his skill and sensitivity in providing such an outstanding experience for those of us listening from the Nave. All in all, it was I think the most impressive performance I have heard from the CSO over very many years. Well done all!

Alan Thurlow

FURTHER DETAILS

The Chichester Orchestral Society, predecessor to today’s Chichester Symphony Orchestra, performed the UK premiere of Poulenc’s Organ Concerto in Chichester Cathedral in 1943, when the conductor was Horace Hawkins, then the Organist and Master of the Choristers at the Cathedral. The soloist on that occasion was Anne Sheail, Assistant Organist at the Cathedral. We are delighted to revisit the piece once again, and to have Charles Harrison, the current Organist and Master of the Choristers at the Cathedral, as our soloist.  This Southern Classical article provides some fascinating background information.

Chichester Symphony Orchestra provided its own interpretation of the USA’s 4th July Independence Day celebrations at its Festival of Chichester concert this year.

After last year’s Last Night of the Proms concert it was time to turn to music written in or inspired by North America. Czech composer Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony number 9 in E minor, the New World Symphony, has its legions of followers and supporters worldwide and has been performed several times by this orchestra in the past. It was the major work in this evening’s concert. The symphony was composed whilst Dvorak was in the USA and working as the Music Director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York in 1893. It includes a series of African-American and Native American melodies all brought together in the rousing final movement. It was beautifully played and showed off the full dynamic range of the orchestra. One issue with live performance is that there were a couple of occasions when something wasn’t quite right – it was either a tuning issue or the wrong notes being played. But this was not the case for Mel Espin who played the haunting and lyrical cor anglais theme in the slow movement to great acclaim. This theme is familiar still to so many as the background to a certain advertisement filmed on Gold Hill in Shaftesbury!

The concert had opened with a spirited rollercoaster ride of a performance of the overture to Candide, written by Leonard Bernstein. Launched first in Boston, USA, it was not until the production moved to Broadway in October 1956 that the critics hailed it as a brilliant masterpiece. Both the overture, and the musical to which it is attached, have now become one of Bernstein’s most celebrated and enduring works. Dame Patricia Routledge DBE, the orchestra’s Patron, had won an Olivier Award for her own performance in it when the musical was revived at the Old Vic theatre in London in 1978.

The orchestra perfectly captured the mockery and witty satire of Voltaire’s masterful novella, and particular credit is due to the contribution of the orchestra’s extensive percussion section.

The second work in the first half was the Florida Suite by Frederick Delius. Whilst a popular work with orchestras, this was its first outing with Chichester Symphony Orchestra. The piece captures a series of scenes and moods in a day in the life of a citrus plantation in Jacksonville, Florida, to which Delius had been sent by his father when he was 22 years old. It is fortunate for us all that Delius did not make the grade as a plantation manager and focused his life on composing music instead. The orchestra’s gentle and lyrical shimmering sound perfectly captured sunrise over sleepy waters, and later the music evoked the distant sounds of workers singing a spiritual.

Credit as always to Simon Wilkins, conductor, and especially to Natalia Corolscaia in her final concert as Leader of the orchestra after three years. She will be returning to her native Moldova. Following the presentation of a bouquet of flowers and some words of appreciation by Simon, the orchestra launched into a suitably fitting American encore – John Philip Sousa’s ever-popular Liberty Bell March. A real ship’s bell was pressed into action at the appropriate moments.

The excellent programme, researched and collated by orchestra members Cara Steger and Cathy Day, included a tribute to the late Barry Goodchild who had been a cellist with the orchestra from 1977-2024.

Chrissy Joseph

Prokofiev’s not the easiest composer to file away in a category. Alongside his popular classics like the troika ride, Romeo and Juliet and Peter and the Wolf, there are some more challenging symphonies and concertos. But I’m sure nobody would want to be reduced to a member of a category and his ‘Classical’ Symphony no. 1 jumps out of its pastiche title like a jack-in-a-box.

It is good-humoured, even humorous, and compact. Simon Wilkins has his players well-organized under his concise, unfussy direction and their sound is beautifully balanced. The whole orchestra are given their moments and I was left mainly wondering how much Prokofiev had lifted from Beethoven, if anything, by way of homage or if it was just my imagination. It was an obvious stand-out and a great pleasure throughout.

Otherwise we were English which for the most part in the first half of the C20th means either marching, reflecting on war or pastoral. First, Elgar’s Chanson de Matin was silky smooth with sympathetic pizzicato in the bass. Vaughan-Williams’s English Folk Song Suite began with a march featuring powerful brass that would not be out of place as part of the traditional last night of the Proms sequence, the oboe was featured to great effect in the tenebrous intermezzo before the more familiar march was both rousing and full of jollity.

In a further call in recent weeks to Gustav Holst, who is interred only a few yards away and whose 150th anniversary is not long passed, A Somerset Rhapsody has a lone oboe  accompanied by delicate strings before it warms and widens with brass providing more panoramic views.

It’s hardly fair on the CSO that my most recent experience of orchestral concerts was two by the Berlin Philharmonic but there’s more to life than being the best in the world. The CSO filled every seat Chichester Cathedral could find and then some were standing and so it was as packed as a sell-out Albert Hall if not more so which is a tribute to this annual highlight of the lunchtime programme as well as showing how many friends they have.

After the Prokofiev, Elgar’s Chanson de Nuit neatly book-ended a hugely enjoyable concert, rich and velvety with prominent lower strings augmented by horns, and took us to a restful conclusion.

David Green

Read the review on Southern Classical.

The 2024 Festival of Chichester concert given by the Chichester Symphony Orchestra was compered by Kate Mosse CBE, the international best-selling novelist and Festival President. Also in attendance was Dame Patricia Routledge DBE – Patron of both the Festival and of the Symphony Orchestra. 

In her introduction, Kate charted her school years in Chichester and those who had inspired her to learn to play both the piano and the violin. She went on to play violin in the Chichester Youth Orchestra and the West Sussex Youth Orchestra. For tonight’s concert she provided the literary ‘glue’ connecting the real-time concert performances with the lives and loves of all the composers featured. I thought this was an excellent way to impart relevant information to the audience, alongside that in the printed programme, and it would be good to have this happen more often at these concerts. 

The first piece played was the Overture to ‘The Wreckers’ by the inimitable Ethel Smyth, about whom Kate had written in her history Warrior Queens and Quiet Revolutionaries.  Celebrated and famous in her time, Ethyl Smyth composed an extensive range of chamber and full orchestral pieces, choral works, and six operas. She was also active in the Suffragette Movement. After her death in 1944 she was largely written out of classical music history by the male historians and composers who came after her. Epic and ambitious, the orchestra very ably conjured up a night-time storm scene with an in-bound ship being lured onto a rocky Cornish foreshore. 

Alice Mary Smith published her first song at the age of 18 and, from the 1860s onwards, went on to compose symphonies and other orchestral works. The music critics (all male) expressed surprise that such works could have come from the pen of a young lady! Her Andante for clarinet and orchestra was composed and first performed in 1870. It is truly a piece of great charm and provided a delightfully soothing and melodic contrast to the earlier Cornish storm. Seventy years later Ruth Gipps, a former child prodigy, wrote her Clarinet Concerto.  

The orchestra was joined for the latter two pieces by the gifted Alex Buckley, a former principal clarinettist with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. A highlight for many was the love duet in the second movement of the Clarinet Concerto that touched all our hearts. The accompanying orchestra excelled themselves allowing Alex’s precision solo clarinet playing to soar overhead when needed. It was a very well-balanced collaboration and was keenly felt by all.  

After a glass of Pimms in the interval, the orchestra reassembled to perform, with great fun and enjoyment, five well-known works associated with the Last Night of the Proms. The excellent written programme complemented the compere’s notes about life on the high seas in the King’s Navy and the ‘green and pleasant land’ of William Blake’s poem Jerusalem – widely believed to have been inspired by the views from what is now the Royal Oak pub in Lavant. Alex Buckley took on vintage car horn duties in Henry Woods’ Fantasia on British Sea Songs – whilst the orchestra’s Chairman was spotted on bell-ringing duties. Union flags were waved vigorously, particularly in Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March number 1 with its majestic theme tune. ‘Jerusalem’ then ended this superb summer concert.  

Chrissy Joseph 

As is now usual, the Chichester Symphony Orchestra closed the Festival of Chichester with its Summer Concert at St. Paul’s Church and this year were delighted to have the President of the Festival, Kate Mosse, acting as compere. With her literary skills and local knowledge, she linked the composers and pieces of the programme with Chichester in a most informative and entertaining way. 

Kate’s introductions and the well-researched programme notes were particularly helpful as the first half of the concert featured three pieces by British female composers whose music struggles for due recognition almost as much now as it did in their lifetimes. A situation common to women in many walks of life that is only slowly being redressed. Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers Overture got the concert off to a lively start with energetic playing by the Leader, Natalia Corolscaia, driving the ship but not the orchestra onto the rocks and the brass section enjoying their role in adding to the drama. 

Two pieces for clarinet and orchestra followed with Alex Buckley, from Oxford University, as soloist. His rendition of Alice Mary Smith’s Andante was a melodic and soothing contrast to The Wreckers and was followed by Ruth Gipps’ Clarinet Concerto in G minor Op. 9. Equally well played by Alex and a tour de force in pizzicato for the cello section. 

The second half needed less introduction as it was the five pieces by Mackenzie, Arnold, Wood, Elgar and Parry that have become the core of the Last Night of the Proms and in many cases virtually alternative National Anthems. Some of the audience had come prepared with flags to join in the fun and singing at the appropriate times was encouraged but the orchestra was having fun too and overpowered the brave voices. Henry Wood’s Fantasia on British Sea Songs calls on soloists within the orchestra – trumpet bugle calls answered by the horns, and in the later quiet sections solos by cello, clarinet and oboe. All were excellently played although the conductor’s japing in the clarinet solo would have put off a lesser player. 

This was a concert worthy of the Festival of Chichester, well programmed and clearly thoroughly rehearsed, which was greatly enjoyed by the audience. The orchestra, soloist and conductor can be justly proud of their achievements, and we can look forward to their next offering – the always popular lunchtime concert in Chichester Cathedral on 29th October. 

Philip Wake 

Overheard in the Oxfam bookshop beforehand was somebody saying they’d read a certain book and it was ‘unusual’ which immediately made me wonder what was ‘usual’.

St. Paul’s Church in Chichester was the location for the annual summer concert by Chichester Symphony Orchestra – founded in 1889 and still going strong over 130 years later. Over 150 people attended. This was a programme of music by Johannes Brahms acting as a sandwich with a Max Bruch Violin Concerto as the filling.

The concert opened with the Academic Festival Overture by Brahms. Brahms had never been to university but in 1876 he was offered an honorary directorate by Cambridge University (which he declined – he did not want to make the sea crossing to England from Germany) and later again two years later by Breslau – now Wroclaw – University (which he accepted). By way of tribute, he composed this overture incorporating some well-known student songs to demonstrate his (virtual) affection for the boisterousness of student life. Despite, or in spite of, the university authorities being taken aback by the apparent frivolity of the piece, it is now a regular feature of many concert programmes. The mysterious opening was carefully delivered by the orchestra before the orchestra confidently ramped up the student life descriptions in a series of grander symphonic passages.

Classic FM’s Hall of Fame chart of the top 300 most popular pieces, as favoured and selected by listeners, often features the Bruch Violin Concerto in G Minor. (Unlike Brahms, Bruch did accept an honorary doctorate from Cambridge University). In 2023 the violin concerto is in fact ranked at number 14. It did not come as much of a surprise then that this was the main draw for this concert, which featured Catherine Lawlor, a previous Leader of the orchestra. The rapport that she still has with the players and conductor, Simon Wilkins, was very obvious and both worked together to do full justice to the music. The second movement is often described as the soul of the work and it was played beautifully. One orchestra member commented to me in the interval that followed that she felt very emotional about Catherine’s performance and would have liked to put down her own instrument, stop playing, and just listen to Catherine’s playing instead. In fact that playing clearly took both the audience and the orchestra deep into the lyrical beauty of the music. Overall, it was a tremendous performance and it ranked amongst the best heard live in Chichester in many a year.

The concert concluded with Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 in D major, written in just four months during a summer holiday in 1876, the same year he had composed the Academic Festival Overture. It is a very summery symphony and yet has some melancholic passages, particularly those delivered by the cello in the slow second movement. The audience reacted with delight when the trombonists rose as one to their feet to deliver the final chord of the rousing final movement. Although an encore had been demanded at the symphony’s first ever performance following this final movement of the symphony, it was not to be on this occasion. How could Chichester Symphony Orchestra possibly play an encore in such circumstances? It was, nevertheless, a ‘superb concert’ as an audience member offered to me as we left the building..

Greg Slay

It was standing room only (and later a standing ovation) for this bite-sized lunchtime concert of two popular pieces of music.

Having been introduced as ‘one of the cornerstones of Chichester city life’ the orchestra launched into Mozart’s overture to Cosi fan tutte. Not much is known about the creation of this opera in 1789 except that both it and The Marriage of Figaro are enormously popular with modern day audiences. Today’s performance clearly demonstrated why that continues to be the case.

Next up was a performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto number 4 in G major, opus 86. Our soloist was Tim Rumsey, originally from Barnham, and now a final year Masters’ student at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Tim has built up a loyal following of enthusiasts for his passionate and experienced performances of a wide variety of musical styles including both classical and jazz.
From the piano solo opening of the first movement the audience was in thrall to both his playing (from memory and without a sheet music reminder) and that of the accompanying orchestra. This is a concerto that is well known to many and was ranked at number 188 in the Classic FM Hall of Fame 2021.

The first extended cadenza took many, myself included, by surprise. I asked Tim afterwards and he assured me it was all Beethoven’s own work! I have subsequently found out that the cadenza has been re-written on a number of occasions by a range of composers and performers. But back to the concerto itself – Tim’s expressive playing (especially in the sublime second movement) and dynamic range were well matched by the orchestra. The cathedral’s warm acoustic showed off both soloist and orchestra extremely well.

We were then treated to a short solo encore – a touch of jazz piano! This was an extract from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, specifically the number ‘O, I Can’t Sit Down’ as famously transcribed in 1976 by the American pianist Earl Wild.

This encore and the two pieces that had preceded it sent us all out into the city centre with joy in our hearts.
 

Greg Slay

After a hiatus of several years on my part it was a delight to be able to attend the evening concert given by the Chichester Symphony Orchestra in the 2022 Festival of Chichester.

Numbering some 50 musicians, the orchestra opened up with a performance of an unusual piece by Dvorak, ‘The Noon Witch’ – one of the three orchestral ballads in which Dvorak had set Czech folk tales to music. The legend follows what happens to a family that lives in the woods and where the sole child misbehaves whilst their father is away and their mother is preparing lunch. The piece starts happily enough but in order to deal with a misbehaving child the Noon Witch is summoned and leads the child on a merry dance. This inevitably ends in great sadness when orchestral bells signify the arrival of noon, the Witch makes her exit, and father returns only to find that his son is dead.

Pavlos Carvalho, the internationally renowned cellist and one of the founding members of Ensemble Reza, was the soloist in a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations. This chamber piece showed off the rich tone of his cello, very ably complemented – and never overwhelmed – by the strings of the accompanying orchestral ensemble. The whole piece was a joy from start to finish and was played with great charm and warm-heartedness by soloist and orchestra alike.

Carvalho remained on stage to play a companion piece, also by Tchaikovsky. This was a nocturne, originally composed for piano, later reworked for cello and piano, and then again for cello and orchestra. It was beautifully played and felt very appropriate for a balmy evening as the daylight faded away.

As a one-time orchestral musician myself, and having heard the second symphony of Sibelius performed live by a number of professional orchestras, I was interested to know how Chichester Symphony Orchestra would cope with it. I need not have been concerned. Whilst it is an ambitious piece for any amateur orchestra to perform, Chichester’s musicians rose to the occasion with aplomb. I particularly noted the way in which the evocation of the Finnish landscape, which is so much of what this symphony celebrating Finland is all about – was interpreted with care and played with real emotion. In particular, the pizzicato strings in the third movement generated a real sense of wind and rain interspersed with moments of calmness and tranquillity. The brass contribution to the final movement built the sense of patriotism that I had expected. The revised acoustics in St Paul’s meant that the brass not only never unbalanced the mood of the whole movement but also ensured that the final flourishes did not overwhelm the rest of the orchestra’s performance. Stirring stuff indeed.

Simon Wilkins conducted. It was good to see a conductor being crystal clear in his direction and the providing of cues to his players. His own joy with the quality of the performances was evident as he acknowledged the sustained applause at the end of the concert.

Greg Slay

In a glorious Saturday afternoon in St Paul’s Church, we were served a delicious evening of orchestral works from that great son of Bohemia, Antonín Dvořák, with a somewhat appropriate sandwich-filling of his contemporary, Johannes Brahms. The German was highly influential in the rise of Dvořák’s fortunes as it was with his support and guidance that set the plucky young Czech on a more nationalistic and, indeed, populist path.

So it was fitting that the Chichester Symphony Orchestra opened their Summer Concert with a selection from his first set of Slavonic Dances. Composed in 1878, these pieces finally delivered the wider recognition he deserved. Whilst Brahms may have been accused of appropriating melodies for his similar Hungarian Dances, Dvořák merely idealized elements of traditional Czech folk dances and remoulded them into original and highly individual orchestral pieces. A variety of mood was covered in a terrific performance by the CSO with abundant detail and colouring, from the potent vigour of the furiants to the delightful charm of the sousedská. The boundless energy of the popular dance No. VIII, in full presto tempo, only highlights Dvořák’s ground-breaking harmonic ingenuity. Interestingly, this switch of mode in a melodic thread swapping from major to minor, is often, erroneously, considered a modern device (just hum the opening bars of the theme from HBO’s Game of Thrones and you’ll see the remarkable similarity; we composers stand on the shoulders of giants).

Which brings us to the sweet filling of Johannes Brahms’s Violin Concerto, written in the same year and dedicated to the composer’s friend, the virtuoso Joseph Joachim. Undeniably he would need to be skilful, as the piece is fiendishly difficult for any soloist. It is fortunate for us then that the CSO’s one-time Leader, Catherine Lawlor, stepped up to give a truly breath-taking performance. I cannot stress enough how technically demanding and formidable this work is for a violinist. It stands as a watershed in the repertoire with good reason: the rapid passagework, enormous rhythmic variation and abundance of multiple-stops are challenging in the extreme and Lawlor’s execution was as confident and sure-footed as I have heard. Highly impressive. Special mention must also go to the woodwind section’s sonorous wind chorale in the second movement and a polished oboe solo by Wendy Carpenter.

It must be said at this point that I am not a fan of the acoustics in St Paul’s. The sound reflections give an unpleasant and nebulous effect to the music that serves to dampen all those wonderful articulations. The problem was further augmented by the bassoons and harmonically-rich low brass playing from a raised platform in the apse. Despite this, conductor Simon Wilkins maintained the orchestra in a balanced and tightly controlled manner which negated some of these disagreeable environmental effects.

After the interval, we returned to Dvořák and his Symphony No. 5, a beautiful pastoral work evoking the landscapes of his native Bohemia, and the orchestra captured the balmy summer mood of the first movement perfectly. The enchanting slow movement, with its ample provision of counter-melodies, was equally delivered as the composer intended: a relaxing walk in the Czech countryside. The jovial scherzo followed by a darker trio kept the music alive and fascinating before the powerful finale. Here, again, Dvořák shows his harmonic originality by opening the movement with a forceful A minor chord, quite foreign to the tonic F major to which we return only after a long and exhilarating journey through considerable suspense and drama.

It was, ultimately, a wonderful evening; a snapshot of romantic music at its finest, arousing an array of emotions and full of vitality.

Now, after all that adventure, there was talk of a sandwich?

Bruno Newman

“An afternoon at the Movies”, I replied to the umpteenth question of where we were headed on a dreary Saturday afternoon. It was clear that my ruse would not last, subject to the scrutiny of my four long-sceptical children aged between five and eleven, even before we turned away from the cinema. There was already the suspicion – rightly, as it turns out, that this had something to do with an orchestral concert.

Except this was a Family Concert, and it was just that. The Chichester Symphony Orchestra performed a varied programme of modern and classic movie soundtracks from the world of Hollywood, jazz and musical theatre. Aimed for families with young children, it was hugely entertaining and informative for both kids and adults alike. A blend of musical education, theatre and humour meant the hour went by in a flash of a light sabre. More on that later.

From the moment he walked up to the podium, Simon Wilkins, the CSO’s young but endearingly charismatic conductor, immediately put us at our ease. Dismantling any notion of stuffiness, he introduced us to the various sections of the orchestra, all helpfully dressed in colour co-ordination, with a handy reference guide to each instrument printed in our programme.

John Williams’ original Star Wars Suite from A New Hope was a sure-footed way to start the proceedings, and the orchestra certainly did not disappoint. The brass section, at full symphonic strength, were magnificent. The iconic top C for the trumpets in the main theme was struck with precision and confidence every time, with the low brass doing justice to Williams’ masterful, but challenging, counterpoint. It is a testament to the skill of the conductor here that the overall balance was good, despite the orchestra being a little light in violins against the full force of the brass, double woodwind and a panoply of percussionists. Whilst Simon jested that there’s only one real Solo in Star Wars, special mention must be made for Jill Hooker’s hauntingly beautiful flute in Princess Leia’s Theme.

And from that galaxy far, far away we were invited to spend A Night on the Bare Mountain in Modest Mussorgsky’s terrifying tone poem and, judging by the faces of my children, this musical “ghost-train” had its desired effect. Staying on the dark side with Williams’ Imperial March, Simon pulled his masterstroke.  After schooling the audience in the art of a basic four-pattern, he handed a (suitably sized) baton to a small boy, picked at random, to conduct his symphony orchestra. What could have been a gimmick was heart-meltingly adorable, and indeed a perfect metaphor for the CSO’s mission to make classical music accessible to all.

The excursion to ‘30s America with Gershwin in Hollywood was less successful, not that it wasn’t impeccably played, only that it is in the company of far more recognisable works for younger ears. An orchestral medley of Abba tracks brought us back to familiar territory (I swear I could hear them singing along behind me) and we were subsequently treated to Leroy Anderson’s light-hearted Jazz Pizzicato – a wonderful example of the versatility of the strings, resplendent as they were in their red sectional colour.

This all worked so well simply because of the easy-going charm of the conductor who, like a young Leonard Bernstein with his Young People’s Concerts, effortlessly educates and entertains a broad range of listeners, whilst never taking himself too seriously. We all felt involved. Come the return to the Throne Room and End Credits there was a genuine feeling of delight in the room.

So, plenty to discover and enjoy in this wonderful programme, and one can only hope that it will become a regular feature of the Chichester Symphony Orchestra in the future.

“This was better than the cinema”, remarked my five-year-old as we were leaving. A New Hope indeed…

Bruno Newman

Tuesday lunchtime at half term in a cathedral packed to the rafters. Do cathedrals have rafters? Anyway, it could mean only one thing: Chichester Symphony Orchestra’s annual Cathedral concert and a fine one it was too with CSO under the direction of their new conductor Simon Wilkins.

These short 50 minute concerts must be difficult to programme, requiring something reasonably substantial (here Beethoven’s 1^st symphony) backed up by shorter but satisfying works (for audience and players), in this case Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture (Fingal’s Cave) and the delightful Järnefelt Praeludium.

The concert began with the Mendelssohn and immediately one could sense that the audience was ‘involved’ from the well-known opening theme. There was some particularly sonorous playing from the cellos and a strong clarinet solo. The wind sections were secure and the trumpets vibrant. There was good rhythmic ensemble playing, controlled by Simon Wilkins’ well-organised handling of the various changes in tempi. Perhaps especially notable was the good dynamic contrast in this piece and elsewhere. Before the concert, my neighbour told me of her visit to the splendid Fingal’s Cave. I asked her afterwards if the orchestra had managed to convey the atmosphere of the place. “Oh, definitely”, she replied. That says it all really.

After a slightly hesitant start to the Järnefelt this charming evocation of what I took to be Finnish countryside developed beautifully with lovely contributions for solo violin by CSO’s new leader Catherine Lawlor and splendid horns and trumpets mimicking bugles. Again, this really conveyed atmosphere – one could almost hear horses trotting along through the snow with a troika.

The orchestra achieved good balance in the opening movement of the Beethoven symphony and, again, effective dynamic contrast. The wind section was secure with especially fine playing from principal oboe Wendy Carpenter. I’m told that second violins (perhaps because they are second violins) are terrified by the sort of opening that confronts them in the second movement but, if so, that was not obvious. There was lovely expressive phrasing here. The third and fourth movements were taken at a fair lick, perhaps a touch faster than was comfortable, but the orchestra responded in fine style and, if the ensemble creaked a little at times, the overall effect was a joyous response from a group of players who clearly enjoy making music together under their new conductor.

Jonathan Hooker

Each year as the Festival of Chichester draws to a close the Chichester Symphony Orchestra performs its Summer Concert at St. Paul’s Church by the Northgate roundabout. The Festival’s promotion marketing helps to encourage a large audience and this year’s was reckoned to be the largest ever with c200 enthusiastically packing into the church. Hot though we were in this long dry spell, it was nothing in comparison to the hard working players who gave their all throughout the evening to great effect.

The concert opened with Mozart’s wonderful Magic Flute Overture, K620 composed in the last few months of his life. As the well-researched and interesting programme notes informed us, Mozart brings together the polar opposites of the opera, profundity and comedy with such conviction that there is an invigorating sense that something special is in store. The same can be said of the orchestra, under the relatively new team of Simon Wilkins (Conductor) and Catherine Lawlor (Leader), as the Overture was performed with great verve but attention to detail to provide an uplifting start to the programme.

The appreciative applause gave the players a little time to cool down before being joined by Pavlos Carvalho for Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B minor, Op.104. Pavlos’ biography is certainly impressive in terms of international competition successes and performing in the UK and abroad, but there is clearly much more to his musicality than the straight classical repertoire with much involvement in education programmes and concluding the Festival here in Chichester performing with a Greek folk music band. His ability to communicate sensitively in music was immediately apparent in his rapport with the conductor and given full rein in this superb concerto with its mix of chamber music-like passages and symphonic grandeur. The duet between soloist and leader was both visually and audibly perfect with Pavlos’ turning to make eye contact and the same level of togetherness was apparent in the other chamber combinations even though the woodwind and brass sections were obviously behind him. Dvorak’s writing for the cello is justifiably much loved, particularly by cellists, as evidenced by the wonderfully melodic theme in his 8^th Symphony and this concerto is equally popular, often being paired in recordings with Elgar’s. Soloist and orchestra did full justice to Dvorak’s blend of national idioms and folk tunes with symphonic traditions that were also influenced by his time in America where this concerto was written. The rapturous applause would probably have gone on for even longer if not for everyone needing a breath of fresh air.

The concert concluded with Sibelius’ challenging Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op.82 written during the First World War and in time for his 50^th birthday celebrations which, as a Finnish national hero, were virtually a national holiday. Perhaps even more so than Dvorak the music of Sibelius expresses a strong nationalistic consciousness but it is by no means all bombastic. The orchestra’s horns and brass sections played their many memorable passages superbly, particularly in the third movement building to the finale, whilst the strings handled the rather eerie and contemplative central movement sensitively and watchfully. Throughout the complex woodwind writing with many soloistic passages, superbly played, and the understated but musically effective conducting of Simon Wilkins held the piece confidently together to its exultant final chords delivered to unusual double-fisted sweeps of the baton.

This was a concert worthy of concluding the Festival of Chichester, well programmed and clearly carefully rehearsed, which was hugely enjoyed by the audience. The orchestra, soloist and conductor can be justly proud of their achievements and we can look forward to their next offering – the always popular lunchtime concert in Chichester Cathedral on 23^rd October.

Philip Wake

On Saturday March 17th the Chichester Symphony Orchestra presented their Spring concert at St. Paul’s Church, Chichester. Despite the very inclement weather the brave souls who attended were treated to an exciting evening of contrasting styles from the 18th – 20th century.

The programme began, rather appropriately, with Rossini’s Overture to the Silken Ladder. Much of Rossini’s music was written spontaneously, with his sponsors sitting around him demanding the music he had promised be delivered in time for the premiere. The concert began quite suddenly, but none the worse for that! With sparse orchestration to begin, the woodwind took the lead and played with great accomplishment. They were followed by the rest of the orchestra and showed themselves to be equally assured. Tempo changes were achieved well and the ‘Rossini Rockets’ were exciting, with excellent tuning (worth mentioning particularly on a cold night).

Then followed some early Mozart- Les Petits Riens, K299b

This began with a genuinely Mozartian full, well balanced sound, which contrasted well with the chamber qualities in later movements. Some string only movements displayed a rich and well balanced sound, particularly between the 1st & 2nd violins when playing in parallel.

There was reference to the Hurdy Gurdy with the use of a drone accompaniment, and flutes and horns were also given prominence in later movements

Respighi’s ‘The Birds’ followed. This is a delightful work in 5 short movements, a Preludio (which those of us old enough to remember the TV antiques programme ‘Gone for a Song’ were familiar with) and then 4 sections, each representing a different bird. There were some lovely fluttering of wings in ‘The Dove’ and solos for oboe and violin (doubled by clarinet with excellent tuning). ‘The Hen’ needed no explanations. Humorous and with lovely orchestration, it was great fun. The ‘Nightingale’ showed a contrast of mood, being relaxed and a showcasing the flute. ‘The Cuckoo’ used full orchestra, a good sound with bird calls appearing from amongst all sections. It included a convincing ‘harp’ sound and a rather bizarre ‘celesta’ which sounded rather unexpected!

In the interval standing and perusing the program while recovering from the effects of the hard wooden seats, I was impressed by the very informative program notes.

The second half of the programme was a performance of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, and with so many fine recordings available a brave and welcome choice. The first movement was joyous, with some nice Q and A going on between the parts and a good dynamic range, although perhaps the passing of the melody between the instruments could have been more prominent at times, and the bass instruments were a little overwhelmed. There was almost no break before the 2nd movement which came as a bit of a surprise. Beethoven’s dynamic markings here are at times as quiet as possible, which is very hard to achieve, so the double forte when the brass arrived was less effective. However, it was well played with some charming detail in the lace like string accompaniment to the melody. The major section was well executed with fine playing by the horns and clarinet as was the fugato. There was a lovely scale passed down through the instruments which was a delight. The 3rd movement was again joyous. It had some great crescendos and overall good dynamics; a little uneasiness at the repeat was quickly recovered and there were some genuinely exquisite moments. The Finale was a delight with some real drama and was well played with good dynamic contrast and a triumphant finish.

This was an excellent concert, enjoyed by all.

Hugh Carpenter

There was an enthusiastic audience on Saturday at St Paul’s Church, Chichester for the Chichester Symphony Orchestra’s annual Christmas concert. The festive mood was in evidence throughout, as the programme mixed seasonal orchestral favourites with carols for the audience.

Strauss’s Overture to Die Fledermaus was a firecracker of an opening. Conductor Mark Hartt-Palmer was able to conjure up lots of contrast, from lilting waltz passages to fiery polkas, and we might almost have imagined ourselves at the New Year’s Ball in Vienna! The main work in the first half was Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite – nursery rhyme depictions evoking many a pantomime tale. Ravel’s uncanny ability to enter the magical world of a child made for music of unusual delicacy, to which the orchestra beautifully responded.

After the interval we really hit the Christmas spirit, with Coleridge-Taylor’s Christmas Overture and two seasonal items by Leroy Anderson, concluding with the ever-popular Sleigh Ride, all despatched with festive élan. Interspersed with these were the audience carols. In introducing them, Mark conjured up the topical spirit of Strictly Come Dancing by asking his senior players to sit in judgement on the audience’s singing, to gauge whether they deserved an encore of the Sleigh Ride. They did!

Amidst the seasonal merriment, this concert did, however, mark a significant moment in the life of the Orchestra, being Mark’s last appearance as their Conductor. His involvement has been long and distinguished, having joined them as Leader in 2000. In the years following he also stepped out as violin soloist in a succession of outstanding concerto performances. Finally he took over at the helm in 2013, and since that time has raised the orchestra’s playing standards immeasurably. A policy of string recruitment has led to a richer string sound which now provides a much better balance with the wind and brass. Ensemble is better, and there has been a noticeable improvement in the orchestra’s quiet playing, providing more of a contrast with the well-known exuberance of their big guns! Mark can hand over the reins to his successor confident in a job superbly done.

Richard Barnes

For our lunchtime concert on Tuesday 24th the Chichester Symphony Orchestra performed in the Cathedral under the baton of Mark Hartt-Palmer and with Yasmin Rowe playing solo piano. The concert began with the performance of Mozart’s overture from the Opera ‘La Clemenza Di Tito’. Not one of Mozart’s best known overtures, this begins with unison strings, often a challenge to amateur orchestras. However this was well in tune, confidently played and with a rich string tone. It was followed by the woodwind playing delicately with a chamber-like quality which set the tone for the rest of the piece. The orchestra was well balanced and there was good contrast in the dynamics and articulation.

Following our ‘hors d’oeuvre’ our main course was the lovely Schumann piano concerto in A minor, written in 1845 and first played by his wife Clara. Yasmin plays with great authority and she has a lovely singing quality with which she brings out the melodies. Her playing was at times romantic, dramatic and impassioned; at others it was intimate and delicate. She accompanied sensitively when required, and there was a good rapport with the orchestra, although there were times when the orchestra could perhaps have been a little more assertive.

The 2nd movement was lyrical and there was some lovely detail in the piano’s descending arpeggios. The cadenza was a delight. Yasmin was obviously much more interested in engaging the audience musically than using it to show off her undeniable technique. As it was it sounded at times that she was playing a duet! There was a flawless transition to the 3rd movement when the cyclic form allowed us to revisit themes from the 1st movement. A lovely main course!

I was beginning to sadden – I was hungry for more. The ovation following the concerto was genuine and well deserved but short; however, thankfully we were treated to an encore – the lovely ‘Widmung’ by Schumann, originally written to be sung to words by Ruckert, which extolls the virtue of a pure love, which probably explains the quirky quote of Schubert’s ‘Ave Maria’ to end – as the ‘most perfect love’ – but arranged for piano solo, could it be as fulfilling? Yes it could, it all made sense! Our lunchtime banquet was complete.

Hugh Carpenter

The CSO – Chichester’s own symphony orchestra – impressed a full house last night at St Paul’s. For this was Chichester’s musical best! Our very own CSO offered some glorious moments of similarity to their illustrious acronym peers in Chicago – such is the progress over the last couple of years of this wonderful part of our local cultural scene under the deft baton of Mark Hartt-Palmer.

After a slightly hesitant start, this assured orchestra led by Lis Peskett never looked back. To open, the packed house was treated to the six, mainly rousing movements of Bizet’s beefy Carmen suite. Oboist Wendy Carpenter’s wistful mid-piece phrases heralded a finale during which many an audience lip quivered to the toreadors’ march of do do doodle oo, do do do dodoodle oo, do do doodle oo, do doodle oo etc.

There then followed for me the highlight of the evening – the quite extraordinary French horn talents of BBC Young Musician of the Year finalist Ben Goldscheider in a technically challenging three movement concerto. He was accompanied quite exquisitely by the well-balanced upper and lower strings – and the warm, controlled wind section These provided by turns, the backdrop to a poignant, occasionally melancholic, then cautiously triumphant piece. Composed by a Russian -Reinhold Glière – surprisingly as late as 1950 – this piece was completely new to most of us and had very strong romantic period roots it seemed to this listener, albeit closing with Soviet style militaristic exultation in the big brassy finish. I could easily imagine this as an accompaniment, to a bunch of self-awarded medals – pinned proudly to Russian big cheeses’ lapels, at a Red Square march-past. And so genuinely satisfyingly delivered too by both soloist and orchestra, for we in the two and sixpennies.

The evening was completed by an interesting interpretation of the Tchaikovsky Symphony No 2 “Little Russian”. After another somewhat hesitant start, there were some sensitively rendered full orchestra passages despite the occasional few stuttering phrases. The second movement contained yet again another reflection of the new-found confidence of the CSO with a warm glow cast over the proceedings by the calm mid-passage – not this time from the brilliant young soloist – but from part of the CSO home-grown talent in the shape of the first desk horn. A delightful, rich sound from one who knows his instrument well.

And so, on to the finale. Here lay a sharp contrast to the previous sensitive playing. The weapons-grade brass section proclaimed the grandest ‘issimo’ of any fortissimo the rapt audience had ever heard.

That the Chichester Symphony Orchestra can attract soloists of the international standard calibre of Ben Goldscheider is a clear reflection of the orchestra’s current status. It was a true evening’s entertainment that undoubtedly deserves to attract new audiences and will easily retain its present faithful adherents. Further full houses will inevitably follow this challenging but balanced programme.

As a footnote I would like to mention and applaud Conductor Mark’s spoken words of introduction. How refreshing to hear from a man who is more familiar with the repertoire than us, offering us some further intriguing insights into what we were to hear. More please, Mark! More please CSO!

Andrew Simpson