Thieving Magpie Overture - Rossini
Roman Carnival Overture - Berlioz
Symphonie Fantastique (excs) - Berlioz
Danse macabre - Saint-Saens
Espana - Chabrier
Der Freischutz Overture - Weber
Symphony No 9 (excs) - Beethoven
Eight Hungarian Dances - Brahms
The National Symphony Orchestra's "Golden Jubilee Favourites" series ended at the NCH last night. This concert of eight pieces, including excerpts, three overtures and a collection of eight dances, epitomised the inescapable limit ations of this series. Nobody gets a chance to get their teeth into anything. Even the most profound music becomes merely diverting.
On the evidence of this concert, conductor Claire Gibault is a thoughtful musician, sure of how she wants things to go, with no interest in the cheap shot and an almost vocal way of shaping melody. Yet only a few of the pieces made the impact which these strengths promised.
Gibault's direction produced precise attack, though without consistently secure ensemble, especially at joins. In the slow movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, this mercilessly negated some beautifully-coloured sounds, espec ially good in the woodwind.
Weber's Der Freischutz Overture epitomised another limitation. Even though phrasing seemed always apt for this most melodic of pieces, there was little cumulation in its parade of material. Instead of drama, we had a succession of contrasts.
That said, this concert had its moments, including a vivid performance of Berlioz's Rom an Carnival Overture. Then there were the sparkling opening minutes of Chabrier's Espana, which were memorable despite later loss of momentum. Some of the eight Hungarian Dances by Brahms went well, too. A sweeping account of No. 1 in G minor and a lively, driving encore - the last movement of Bizet's L'Arlesienne Suite - captured the music's spirit better than most of the concert had done.