National Capital
Orchestra
Conducted by Leonard
Weiss
John Smiles, Flute
Elizabeth Alford, Harp
Christian Renggli, Cello
Charles Hudson, Narrator
Albert Hall Saturday
9 December
Reviewed by Len Power
How do you capture the attention of young to very young
children at a classical music concert? The
National Capital Orchestra gave it a valiant try with their concert that
included children’s favourite, Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’.
With the orchestra set up on the floor of the auditorium of
the Albert Hall, children were invited to get up close and personal with the
orchestra by sitting on the floor between the front row of the audience and the
players. Conductor, Leonard Weiss, had a
few tricks up his sleeve to engage his young audience and did it very well.
The first item, Rossini’s ‘Overture to the Barber of
Seville’, competed with a fair amount of noise as the children settled down. Some children were captivated by the music
and sat quietly, taking it all in.
Others, of course, had no idea why they were there and behaved predictably.
 |
| National Capital Orchestra with Charles Hudson narrating 'Peter and the Wolf' |
When the item finished, Leonard Weiss offered the
opportunity for one of the children to conduct a short section of the
overture. Young Henrietta was selected
and she strode confidently to the podium as if she did this every day. It must have been a thrill for her to feel
the power of the orchestra under her direction.
 |
| John Smiles (flute), Elizabeth Alford (harp) and conductor, Leonard Weiss |
The next item was the second movement of Mozart’s ‘Concerto
for Flute, Harp and Orchestra’ with soloists, John Smiles (flute) and Elizabeth
Alford (harp). The children were invited
to ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ at the really nice bits and did so enthusiastically. Overheard behind me was a young lady who
loudly asked about the harp player, ‘How does she know which string to play?’
 |
| Christian Renggli (cello) |
Christian Renggli on cello then joined the orchestra to
perform Honegger’s ‘Cello Concerto’. It
looked a bit of a challenge for Renggli to play with children right at his
feet, but he gave a fine, edgy performance of this fascinating work with the
orchestra.
The final item and the big attraction for children was
Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’ which was well-played by the orchestra. As the narrator, actor/singer Charles Hudson
really engaged the children with his fine voice and well-chosen physical
movements for each of the characters.
 |
| Charles Hudson (Narrator, 'Peter and the Wolf') |
Attending a concert such as this at an early age might just
be the spark that inspires a young person to develop a love of fine music for
the rest of their life. That hope makes
it all worthwhile.
Photos by Peter
Hislop
This review was first
published in the Canberra City News digital edition of 10 December.
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7’s ‘On Stage’ program on Mondays from
3.30pm and ‘Artcetera’ from 9.00am Saturdays.
