Friday 27 August 2021

Chineke in the Albert Hall

I don't usually bother with the TV presentation of concerts when I have already heard the live broadcast on Radio 3. However, intrigued by the information on Facebook that the oboist who played an important part in both major pieces was the daughter of a doyen of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, I had to watch yesterday's show. I am glad that I did. The sound balance was very good (not always true of TV), the cutting was less fussy than usual but, most of all, the sheer enjoyment of all concerned came across as it could not do on the radio. 

Perhaps the Coleridge Taylor symphony will not enter the standard repertoire. If the composer had had the time (he was condemned to work himself virtually to death to support his wife and family, having sold the copyright to his most famous work, Hiawatha) he would surely tightened up what was after all initially a student work. However, Florence Price's Piano Concerto in one Movement will surely continue to gain friends, joining Gershwin's works of the previous decade in the roster. 


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