Sinfonia of Cambridge

A concert by the Sinfonia is always a special occasion - they are one of the best local orchestras; big sound and big heart. The packed house at West Road first heard a short but moving tribute to one of the band's late stalwarts Nicholas Toller. Sad thoughts were rapidly swept away with the lovely little overture to Cosi fan Tutte by Mozart. From the first oboe solo, you knew you were in good hands. Under the baton of Russell Keable, the Sinfonia played like a smooth BMW - all sonorous sound but with the power to blow your socks off.  Though it seems unfair to highlight any one part of this orchestra, the strings and woodwind must come in for special praise. Both upper and lower strings sounded wonderful - completely together, a deep chocolately richness of tone and under Keable's high energy conducting, spot on the notes. The Sinfonia has to be the city's happiest orchestra - it is so uplifting to see the players smiling, swaying and really getting into their music - a sign that they too are really enjoying the works on offer.
 
The high standard of playing and commitment continued in the next piece, Beethoven's astonishingly modern 4th Piano Concerto. The soloist was Beate Toyka. Here from the opening statement by the solo piano, was a reading full of grandiose passion and precision (the old German composer would have loved it). Toyka's playing was never showy preferring the music to speak for itself.  For this reviewer, two of the unexpected highlights of the evening were the cadenzas in the first and third movements. Written by a friend of Rachmaninov, we are suddenly thrust from Beethoven's albeit prescient world of the early 19th century, to the lush sounds of the late romantics. It all worked beautifully. Van B always sounds so far ahead of his time that the crashing mile-high thick chords of the cadenzas didn't at all seem out of place. But it did feel at times as though this were a different (albeit a hugely enjoyable) piece.

The second half consisted of a real showcase for this powerful orchestra's abilities: Schubert's 9th, 'the Great'.  If you associate our Franz with chocolate box sweetness, you should have heard this long piece which is crammed with passion, anger, sorrow and guts. Keable's guys kept the internal tensions of the piece at a knife's edge and brilliantly handled the often almost unhinged twists in tempo and dynamics. It is a mighty work and the Sinfonia were well up to bringing out the sheer narrative drama of this theatrical symphony. Had this not have been West Road with its very respectable audience, we would have cheered the orchestra to the rafters when they reached the final ear-splitting bars of the 9th.