Conductor’s vivacious humour at the classics – William Marshall’s review. The Examiner

An innovation in this concert was that conductor Natalia Luis-Bassa spoke at some length to the audience in between items, describing and analysing them quite humorously.

It perhaps says something about the entrenched formality of classical music concerts that it should be such a surprise when lines of verbal communication are opened up in this way. But is it a welcome development?

Luis-Bassa’s lively personality and vivacious humour  went down well with most of the audience. And the nature of the concert – it could almost have been dubbed an evening of classical “lollipops” – meant that the informal touch was not too jarring even for us old fogeys.

But talks between numbers do have quite a transformative effect on the nature and feel of a concert and they should be used sparingly when the repertoire is of greater profundity.

Saturday’s concert consisted of Offenbach’s Overture to Orpheus in the Underworld, Elgar’s second Wand of Youth Suite, Dukas’s The Sorecerer’s Apprentice, Grieg’s Suite No 1 from Peer Gynt and Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.

The last-named piece, by its very nature, showcased all sections of the orchestra and the Huddersfield Phil coped well with its undoubted technical challenges, not the least of which is to give it a meaningful shape when shorn of its didactic content.

The other items on the programme also highlighted sections and individuals. For example there were some well-taken solo-opportunities in the Offenbach – the clarinet was especially good – and the best aspect of the Grieg was the sonorous, consort-like string playing in the two central sections.

Particularly enjoyable was the Elgar suite, full of fine detail and poignant melody, well realised by conductor and orchestra. And the final section, The Wild Bears, was an appropriately swaggering conclusion to the piece.