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The SPO contribution to the Broomhill Festival opened with a new work – in fact an expansion of Leah Fogo’s arrangement of one of Astor Piazzolla’s piano works “Retrato de Alfredo Gobbi”. The new arrangement was premiered by the SPO on this occasion and the orchestra will be giving a second performance in the Botanical Gardens in July. It’s the sort of piece I can imagine visiting orchestras taking on tour to play as an encore and one can imagine it being a talking point for those coming out of the City Hall (no doubt taking their minds off the navel display). It is only a short piece, in the Broomhill context an amuse-bouche for what was to follow.
Some will remember the talented Roberto Meoni’s clarinet from a couple of years back. We wanted more of the same and we were treated to his rendition of Weber’s F minor Clarinet Concerto. This is a popular work among cognoscenti and was given a fine performance.
After the interval came the major work of the evening, the Second Symphony by Rachmaninov. Those who missed this concert missed a treat. Glorious melodies performed by an orchestra playing its heart out its conductor Jonathan Lo. I hope he enjoyed the rendition, I know the audience certainly did.