The first piece on the Scottish Chamber Orchestra programme was Beethoven’s Corioloan overture with Richard Egarr as the guest conductor. He has often worked with the SCO and has obviously developed an excellent rapport with the musicians as the timing was excellent in this exuberant composition.
The rest of the programme was devoted to Mozart starting with his Symphony No 36 in C – the Linz, written specifically for that city. In four movements there is a varied selection of contrasting moods which Egarr successfully elicited from the musicians.
Mozart’s Magic Flute overture is one of his most popular compositions and the string section of the orchestra demonstrated their considerable talents as they played it as a brisk, impressive rate.
The final work on the programme was his Mass in C – the Coronation composed in l779 when he was twenty three years old. Written in six parts the SCO chorus, under the direction of Gregory Batsleer seems to improve with every performance. Their intonation and subtlety of tone is superb. It was an ambitious composition to perform in a relatively small concert hall. There were four soloists Rowan Pierce, soprano; Daniela Lehner, mezzo soprano; James Gilchrist, tenor and Andrew Foster-Williams, bass baritone. Rowan Pierce’s voice in particular rang like a bell with its beautiful clarity. She and James Gilchrist’s voice were perfectly balanced but the balance of the quartet was not as effective. However, the overall performance was very good.
Friday 24 February - Glasgow City Halls 7.30pm. Tickets: £15.50-£29.50
Saturday 25 February – Aberdeen His Majesty’s Theatre. Tickets £12-£20