Reviews

2025

Music Reviews Taranaki - Echoes of Europe 11 May

A large and happy audience, with a good smattering of children, adults and oldies (I am an oldie) started filling up the theatre seats well before the appointed hour of the concert. Was it excitement? Anticipation?

Music Reviews Taranaki - Spirit of France 30 August

Here was a concert with a difference – no ‘shouting’ Beethoven-style climax, no patriotic nationalistic notes, no early music but rather the more refined, lush sounds of music from early twentieth century France with a little early Mozart for good measure. The auditorium was well-filled with an expectant audience for this second concert of the 2025 season.

Music Reviews Taranaki - Kaleidoscope

REVIEW: Kaleidoscope CONCERT TSO 16 November 2025

This sunny Sunday afternoon’s concert commenced with a light and almost playful composition for Woodwinds and Horns from the young composer Richard Strauss. His Suite in Bb Opus 4 consists of 4 movements: Prelude, Romance, Gavotte, Introduction and Fugue each contrasting in style but all full of his youthful exuberance.

There was a fine balance of sound – a rich timbre from the ensemble; a very pleasant substitution of double bass for contra bassoon; certainly, by the Gavotte movement the togetherness, the unity of sound, of all players was well established. I find it interesting that Strauss shares out the ‘solo’ work to all his instruments, not simply the ones with the highest voice (here, the flutes). Hence, the commentator’s note: “the suite is notable for its complex counterpoint and brilliant wind writing”. The Double Bass fitted in well and in the final movement, the long pedal notes were beautifully reinforced! A great start to the afternoon! (Perhaps a little more time could be given for some of the players to tune a little more carefully.)

Then followed the Brass instruments of the TSO for their contribution, starting with the pompous sound of Byrd’s ‘Earle of Oxford’s Marche’. That courtly yet vigorous Renaissance style was a pleasure to hear – excellent work from the trumpets and trombones, but maybe with a little more care taken for the change of tempo; a great finish! This march was followed by the sonorous, gentle and sombre tones of Lauridsen’s ‘O Magnum Mysterium’. What an ethereal beauty can come from pure brass (he noted, with just a little bias), what lovely flowering into full beauty, and what gentleness to finish. Noteworthy here, too, was the solo trumpet work of Bryce Gordon.

With the Brass ensemble’s final work came Gabrielli’s ‘Sonata Octavi a12”. What a great master was Gabrielli: this is stirring, incessantly- moving music – it was good to hear the effort made to form 2 choirs of brass, so that we could experience those antiphonal effects as well as the fulness of the unified ensemble.

The ‘Brook Green Suite’ by Holst opened the account for the Strings of the TSO. Here is a light and lively short composition of 3 movements simply called Prelude, Air, and Dance. Once started, there was good ensemble – a lovely, rich, balanced sound. There were some delicate pizzicato passages and some beautiful legato too. Although we heard a couple of spots where closer attention was needed to the baton, overall, it was a very pleasant, playful performance.

There was an excellent start to Warlock’s ‘Capriol Suite’ with its earthy sound and good ensemble. Each of the six short movements displayed a varying character from gentle to lively, pastorale to more rugged and rhythmic. Though based on 16th century dances, there is no doubt of the twentieth century influences with the clashing harmonies against peasant rhythms. A strong finish from the TSO Strings!

Sprightly flutes and strings commenced the full orchestra’s performance with Grainger’s ‘Mock Morris’. Then different sections of the orchestra joined in until we were enjoying the full, lusty sound of the orchestra jaunting along. Full of Grainger’s playfulness and ingenuity, it was well- performed by TSO, who obviously couldn’t wait to be all working together again.

For the finale today, TSO presented Vaughan Williams ever-popular ‘English Folk Song Suite’ with its opening march, ‘Seventeen Come Sunday’ - bold and bright; Intermezzo ‘My Bonny Boy’ – melancholy, even haunting; and then another March ‘Folk Songs from Somerset’ – what a lively toe-tapper and finished with polish, a fine afternoon’s entertainment.

Leon M Paix

18th November 2025.