The Durham University Chamber Orchestra is a strange beast; successive conductors have moulded and remoulded it into a peculiarly closeted symphony orchestra. Hurrah, then, to Paul West for reclaiming the ensemble's chamber identity in his first appearance as its new conductor conductor last December.
The concert opened with a crisp, lean and ebullient reading of Mozart's overture to The Marriage of Figaro - textural details were finely shaped being both lucid and vital - followed by Delius' endearingly named Schlittenfahrt, which was given a rare airing with much aplomb.
Prokovief's Classical Symphony followed. Written for the orchestra as Mozart and Haydn would have known it this piece is something of a coup in terms of its resourcefulness: classical forms and archetypes bubble to the surface in a score bursting with wit, élan and vitality. The piece is littered with parodies of eighteenth century music most of which are negotiable and good-humoured - posing something of a challenge. However, where Prokovief's jokes proved laboured so too was the performance, revealing lapses of ensemble coordination and discrepancies of intonation not to mention not-for-note accuracy.
The second half consisted of a performance
of Shostakovich's Jazz Suit No. 2 where the sense of fin de siecle irony
was caught quite magically amidst the seductive harmonies of schmaltzy jazz.
This was an engaging performance of a piece vacillating from large-scale romantic
gestures to detailed chamber writing executed with finesse from conductor and
orchestra alike. The score seemed to fit the abilities of the new conductor
like a glove: both his and the orchestra's enthusiasm communicated itself clearly
resulting in an rapturous response from the audience. Hurrah!
Douglas Bertram