Recent Reviews

Friday 17 November 2006
Express & Echo

Should I even dare to admit that I didn’t know Exeter had a symphony orchestra before I attended this concert last Saturday? Well – I wonder if maybe I’m not alone.

The orchestra consists of those who haven’t yet left school to those who may have forgotten what school was like.

During the evening it performed a varied selection of music from Johann Strass 11’s very well known Die Fledermaus, joyfully played with verve and enthusiasm, then moved on to the atmospheric Egdon Heath by Holst, music that reminded me of a 40s murder-mystery film.

The third piece, the majestic Dies Natalis by Gerald Finzi, was effortlessly sung with due solemnity by Exeter’s own Thomas Hobbs, currently doing post-graduate studies at the Royal College of Music.

Finally, the Romantic Symphony No 4 by Bruckner took the very appreciative audience through rousing Austrian mountain peaks to echoing bird song in the valleys.

Keren Easterbrook

Friday 17 March 2007
Western Morning News

A performance to lift the spirits
Springtime exuberance bubbled beneath the rafters of St. David’s Church in Exeter on Saturday evening as Exeter Symphony Orchestra gave polished and joyful life to pieces by Bach, Prokofiev and Schumann.

The programme opened with Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 which set the upbeat tone with a piece animated by the violins, horns and oboes. The violin solo from leader of the violins Serena Stephenson was full of feeling.

The special guest for the concert was talented young pianist Will Galton, for whom a grand piano was moved in for the second part of the programme – Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 1. His fingers flew across the keyboard in a fluent scurrying movement, echoed by the flutes and trumpets, which conjured up images of a babbling brook and birds flitting about a sun-dappled wood. His expressive performance was both accomplished and relaxed. The violins joined in the gaiety by plucking their strings with their fingers in unison.

Will then played a brief and perfect encore of Album Leaf, by another Russian composer, Scriabin, to much applause.

The programme, conducted with ebullience by Brian Northcott, ended with the pomp and circumstance of Schumann’s Symphony No. 3, Rhenish, inspired by the composer’s visit to the Rhineland.

Altogether this was a delightful musical offering to herald lighter evenings. The orchestra clearly enjoyed playing it, and their music certainly lifted the spirits of the audience.

Sarah Pitt