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Exciting Times
Duncan Ward makes his debut as
Sinfonia Viva's principal conductor,
experienced by MIKE WHEELER
Conductor Duncan Ward has worked with Sinfonia Viva before, but this was his debut as the orchestra's Principal Conductor, and what a thrilling occasion it was (Derby Cathedral, Derby, UK, 10 January 2015).
While I personally had reservations about the romanticised treatment of Purcell's G minor Chacony in Britten's string orchestra version, I had none at all concerning the rest of the evening.
It was a bold move to go straight from the Purcell into Ward's own Resounding vaults without so much as a pause for breath, but the abrupt shift of focus and tone-colour did not jar in the slightest, though it did create an agreeable frisson. Commissioned by Viva for this concert, and scored for wind, brass and percussion, it exploited to splendid effect the spatial possibilities offered by the Cathedral, using the two side-chapels and west-end gallery to create antiphonal effects that Ward, in his note, associated with his experience of playing horn in music by Gabrieli...
Copyright © 17 January 2015
Mike Wheeler,
Derby UK
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