Saturday 13 October 7.30pm
The Bridgewater Hall
BBC Philharmonic - An English Journey: 1

Holst The Planets
Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending
Vaughan Williams Symphony No 6

Though I hate to adopt such an over-used cliché, my relationship with classical music can pretty much be summed up by the words, “I don’t know art, but I know what I like”. Sitting down to watch An English Journey at the Bridgewater Hall was, therefore, something of a voyage into the unknown. 

The lack of empty seats around me suggested that the performance would be worth the ticket, and I was proved right almost immediately with Holst’s well-known piece, The Planets – a suite of seven movements, each named after a planet and its Roman diety. The reputation of the piece was more than lived up to by the BBC Philharmonic, and conductor Vassily Sinaisky had unwavering control over every section of the orchestra throughout the elaborate score. The audience seemed struck by this piece – even the two young boys in front of me sat in open-mouthed silence for the duration. I personally enjoyed the unusual and complex sounds produced by instruments that aren’t commonplace in traditional music of this period, such as the oboes, bassoons and piccolos. In particular, the two harps, played beautifully by Clifford Lantaff and Anna Christensen, as well as the percussion section were eye-catching to say the least.

The second piece in the programme, Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, introduced leader Yuri Torchinsky to the eager audience. The piece itself is certainly evokative: Torchinsky’s expertly played violin mirroring the flight of a skylark into the heavens, until it reaches such a height that it is barely visable. This seemed the case with the ever-rising notes that were teased from the orchestra by Sinaisky. The conductor’s relationship with his orchestra was prevelant throughout tonight’s performance, but during this piece the collaboration between Sinaisky and violinist Torchinsky was particularly engagaing. In fact, Torchinsky played with such dynamism that I found my attention focusing on him even after he had completed his solos.

After the solo sections of the second piece, Symphony No 6 at the close of the programme brought the orchestra back together again brilliantly. Even to those who don’t often attend classical performances, the very spectacle of a mass of instruments all playing perfectly in time with each another is not one that can be easily imagined. After being given such a sensory experience and marvelling at the incredible expertise of the players, it didn’t surprise me in the slightest that the show had been a sell-out.