An evening of Myths and Magic: Alf McCreary reviews opening night of the new season at the Ulster Orchestra
There is always a special atmosphere during the opening night of a new Ulster Orchestra Season, and the Ulster Hall in Belfast was well-filled on Friday for a varied programme under the assured direction of the distinguished young Polish conductor Anna Sulkowska-Migon, who was returning to Belfast again.
Borodin’s Overture Prince Igor had its fanfares and quieter moments as the conductor succeeded in deftly balancing the strings and the brass, but there are more impressive pieces to start a new season, including Bernstein’s Candide and the Shostakovich Festival Overture, to mention only two.
The mood and pace changed dramatically in the Cello Concerto No 1 by the prolific talented French composer Camille Saint-Saens, which was described by Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich no less as one of the greatest cello concertos of all time.
It was played with style and brilliant technical virtuosity by Laura Van Der Heijden. She was given deservedly rousing applause, after which she treated the audience to the composer’s much-loved Swan from his Carnival of the Animals, with orchestral backing.
The performance of the concerto was also noteworthy for the way in which the conductor carefully kept the orchestra as accompanists, in the style which characterised the distinguished tenure of Bryden “Jack” Thomson as principal conductor so many years ago.
The second half began with Gabriel Faure’s Suite Pelleas et Melisande, a curiously sad interlude in such a varied programme but with some beautiful playing in the well-known Sicilienne movement.
The concert was billed as an evening of Myths and Magic but we had to wait for the last piece – Stravinsky’s The Firebird in its 1945 version – to experience this in full.
This extraordinary musical masterpiece made the young Stravinsky an overnight success, and it is not difficult to understand why. There were excellent soloist and ensemble contributions in this widely-ranging work which was meticulously brought to its stirring conclusion by conductor Anna Sulkowska-Migon. She seems to have a rapport with the Ulster Orchestra, and she also has a minimalist style of conducting which is a welcome change from much of the showy arm-flailing from so many other young conductors today.
The next concert on October 10 will be a blockbuster featuring Beethhoven’s Emperor Piano Concerto as well Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, and the premiere of a new Ulster Orchestra commission by Amelia Clarkson. The concert in the Ulster Hall starts at 7.45pm.