Ulster Orchestra: ​Sad works delivered with rare intensity and life

The opening piece Symphonic Minutes Op. 36 by the Hungarian Ernst Von Dohnanyl (1877-1960) consisted of five separate pieces which collectively became a gem of composition which ended with the triumphant Rondo. The Estonian Conductor Mihhail Gerts with minimum baton direction brought out the best in the Orchestra is this varied and entertaining work.

There was little of the sadness in the personal life of the composer whose son Hans was executed by the Nazis for his part in a plot to assassinate Hitler.

There was sadness too in the personal story of another Hungarian Bela Bartok,( 1818-1945) who was forced to flee to America in 1940 to escape Nazi oppression.

He began his Piano Concerto No 3 in the summer of 1945 but sadly he died in September that year and was unable to finish the last bars which were later added by his pupil Tibor Serly- all of which was outlined in the programme notes by Richard Bratby.

Despite Bartok’s struggle for survival there was great life and indeed exhilaration in this Concerto which was played superbly right to the triumphant ending by the outstanding Ukrainian soloist Vadym Kholodenko, who won the Gold Medal in the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

After a first half of such musical intensity, the second half was devoted to the Symphony No 3 by Robert Schumann, known as “the Rhenish,”

Again there is no hint of the sad demise of Schumann who died aged only 46 in 1856 from psychotic melancholia. Maestro Mihhal Gerts brought out all the light and verve of this charming symphony with its Rhineland sunshine-just right to lighten the mood on a cold winter evening in Belfast.

Meanwhile the Ulster Orchestra starts its busy Christmas Season this Saturday with a performance of Handel’s Messiah in the Waterfront Hall, together with the in-form Belfast Philharmonic Choir.

Incidentally it is a pity that the Ulster Hall could not produce Christmas decorations for last Friday’s concert on the first day of December. I am told on good authority that the concert hall is one of the best in Europe, but it is sad that the rest of the Victorian building is so draughty and dreary for so much of the year.