Page 330 - Liverpool Philharmonic 22-23 Season Coverage Book

7 October 2022
Vaughan Williams’ Fifth Symphony –

Liverpool Philharmonic

Marking the 150th anniversary of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ birth, this concert combines the
magical with the majestic, and drama with the delicate. Engaging but not overpowering, it
provides a wonderful evening of music.

The concert is of two halves, with the second half being dedicated to Vaughan Williams. Opening
with Edward Elgar’s Froissart overture, the room bursts into life. Making use of the full orchestra,
Elgar’s first large-scale work permeates the atmosphere.

As the music gathers pace, the enthusiasm from Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal
Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Manze, is tangible. His mesmerising movements ooze
wizardry. All eyes are on him as he leads the orchestra, almost dancing – you can’t help but
enjoy watching the craft of conducting.

Following Elgar is Karol Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No.2. Underpinned by somewhat
haunting echoes, the concerto is last major work before his death. For this piece, Swiss violinist
Sebastian Bohren, joins the conductor and orchestra on stage. Oscillating between the forceful
and the delicate, his playing is superb. The storytelling of the music mirrors the storytelling of his
body language – you watch with bated breath to see if his violin will survive the emotive playing
Violin Concerto No.2 evokes.

Returning to the stage three times after his performance, Bohren then treated the audience to an
extra. He did a solo of Evolène, a piece inspired by the Swiss Matterhorn mountains composed
for the mountain village of the same name.