Nearly full house for Ulster Orchestra on a wet and cold winter’s night

On Friday night the Ulster Orchestra was in fine form under the baton of the charismatic conductor Kerem Hasan and soloist Victor-Julien Laferriere, both of whom quickly established a tangible rapport with the players and the large audience.

Some people would claim that Dvorak’s Cello Concerto is the best of that genre of classical music, while others might choose Elgar’s cello masterpiece, but Friday’s performance of the Dvorak was outstanding throughout this long work right to the triumphant yet wistful finale, which reflected the composer’s sadness at the death of his beloved sister-in-law Josefina.

At the end the soloist deservedly received huge acclaim, including marked enthusiasm from the players, which is not always the case, and we were rewarded with his beautiful encore of Bach’s Allemande from his Violin Partita No 2.

There is also a back-story to Brahm’s Second Symphony, which took up the second half of the concert. Having laboured for some two decades to escape from the mighty shadow of Beethoven, Johannes Brahms finished his First Symphony which confirmed his status as a first-rate composer in his own right.

Then in less than a year he produced his Second Symphony which surprised everyone, and perhaps even himself, with its sunny exuberance from start to finish.

Conductor Hasan adroitly steered the Ulster Orchestra through an impressive performance where the strings-so often overshadowed by the brass- also brought out the lyrical beauty of the piece.

The concert showed overall that you can listen at home or elsewhere to the best recordings of major classical works, but there is nothing quite like hearing a fine orchestra and soloist in full flow during a live stage performance, as happened on Friday.

The Ulster Orchestra’s next concert will be a tribute to Elton John in the Waterfront Hall next Saturday 14 February from 7.45pm.