A concert at the Cheese and Grain on February 11th was another most enjoyable concert from Frome Symphony in their series of concerts highlighting the work of young soloists.
It opened with Mozart’s Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, an overture which asserts loudly “You are going to enjoy what comes next!” And we did, because next on the bill was the 24-year-old Jordanian-Palestinian pianist, Iyad Sughayer, playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 23, a favourite of the concert-hall repertoire.
This is Iyad’s third visit to Frome. The previous two concerts he played were solo recitals at Christ Church, highlighting in particular his dazzling displays of nineteenth and twentieth century music by composers such as Liszt and Khachaturian. Mozart makes very different demands. As do the tricky acoustics of the Cheese and Grain Hall. Iyad demonstrated a great delicacy of touch in the Mozart. Overall, a fluent and elegant reading of the piece which held the big audience spellbound from beginning to end.
The second half of the concert was a performance of Symphony No 1 by the great Finnish composer, Sibelius. This was a world away from the courtly context of Mozart’s music. It seemed especially appropriate for a lovely, frosty winter’s night in Frome. Elemental music that evokes immediately the snowy wastes, frozen lakes and pine forests of the composer’s homeland. The symphony was a show-case too for the woodwind sections of the Frome orchestra, a task they clearly enjoyed.
Under the baton of Mark Gateshill, Frome Symphony go from strength to strength and we are very fortunate to have such a thriving orchestra in our town. Their next concert will be on Sunday 13th May when Julius Scholz will play Arutunian’s Trumpet Concerto.
John Payne
