Westmorland Orchestra and Serene Koh - review

It was pleasing to see a near capacity audience at the Westmorland Orchestra’s recent concert in the Victoria Hall, Grange-over-Sands.

On a damp evening and with the ever-growing threat of the coronavirus, the orchestra must have been heartened to be welcomed by such a large gathering. The downside of the move from the orchestra’s usual venue, Kendal’s Westmorland Hall, to a much smaller hall, however, was the less than ideal acoustic for an orchestra of 50 plus players.

The sound from the wind department (brass especially) was overwhelming at times and did have an adverse impact on the performance. That said, there was much to admire in the playing of the three fine works on the programme.

The concert opened with the Overture and selected movements from Beethoven’s music for the ballet ‘The Creatures of Prometheus’. This got off to a confident start and immediately it was obvious that the orchestra had been well prepared for the performance. The strings deftly negotiated their rapid passage work and the woodwinds demonstrated a lightness of touch in their solo passages. The demanding duet for basset horn and oboe was confidently delivered by sectional principals, Ruth Watton and Nigel Atkinson.

The young Singaporean pianist, and multiple prize winner, Serene Koh was the soloist in Mozart’s C minor Piano Concerto K491. Martin Roscoe, the Westmorland Orchestra’s President, described her as ‘an ideal soloist’ for this concerto, and so it turned out. Her playing had the clarity which Mozart’s music demands. She produced a beautiful tone in the many quiet solos passages with immaculate phrasing and beautifully sustained legato lines. Her dazzling technique enabled her to negotiate Mozart’s rapid passage work, including the difficult cadenza, with ease. Sadly, the work’s opening was marred by some uncertain intonation in the strings and wind and throughout one was aware of the heavy bass line of the orchestra’s eight cellos and four double basses.

After the interval came Mendelssohn’s ‘Italian’ Symphony. This produced some of the best playing of the evening. The performance had energy and conductor, Richard Howarth, drove on the outer movements with great momentum, never allowing the tempo to flag. There was a good balance in the Andante movement between the woodwind hymn-like melodic line and string marching accompaniment. In the third movement the two horn players distinguished themselves in their horn calls with more impressive playing from the woodwind section. The final exhilarating Saltarello proved a fitting end to a concert which brought cheer to many.

Clive Walkley