Dale Barltrop, Violin
Leonard Weiss,
Conductor
Llewellyn Hall 8
December
Reviewed by Len Power
Canberra Youth Orchestra’s final concert for the year
featured two major works – Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto and Scheherazade
by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
Conducted by Leonard Weiss, the orchestra included several
professional local musicians for this concert.
Violin soloist, Dale Barltrop, was born in Brisbane and is now
Concertmaster of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and First Violinist of the
Australian String Quartet.
The program commenced with Britten’s Violin Concerto with
Barltrop as soloist. First premiered in
1940, Britten’s concerto is a brooding, emotive work that evokes the looming
presence of World War Two. It’s powerful
and menacing, creating an uneasy atmosphere and requires strongly expressive
and incisive playing.
 |
| Dale Barltrop |
Barltrop gave a superb performance. It was full of passion and great beauty,
bringing out the many colours and moods of the work. The orchestra under Leonard Weiss excelled
with their playing as well, creating a rich, clear sound that gave the work the
edge it requires.
After interval, Dale Barltrop joined the orchestra as
Concertmaster for the performance of Scheherazade. Considered Rimsky-Korsakov’s most popular
work, it was composed in 1888 and was inspired by the Arabian Nights
tales. It’s a rich, colourful symphonic
suite which evokes a mystical oriental atmosphere as it presents several tales
by the Sultan’s wife, Scheherazade.
 |
| Dale Barltrop (violin), Leonard Weiss (conductor) and the Canberra Youth Orchestra |
The orchestra gave a fine performance of this much-loved
work. Dale Barltrop played the melodic
solo violin passages depicting Scheherazade with great warmth and feeling. The final movement was especially
well-played.
As Barltrop left the stage at the end of the concert, the
orchestra made it very clear that they had enjoyed playing with him. The audience also showed their warm
appreciation for an evening of well-played fine music.
Photos by Peter
Hislop
This review was first
published in the Canberra City News digital edition of 9 December 2018.
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast in his ‘On Stage’ performing arts radio program on Mondays
and Wednesdays from 3.30pm on Artsound FM 92.7.
