18 October 2008 at 7.30pm

Llyr Williams  (piano)

Conductor: Brian Wright

Dukas - The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Schumann - Piano Concerto

Vaughan Williams - Job (A Masque for

Dancing)

The new season of concerts by the Maidstone Symphony Orchestra got off to a cracking start on Saturday night with a performance of Dukas’s “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” under the taut direction of conductor Brian Wright.  This well-known orchestral tone poem is at times a virtual concerto for orchestra and the players at Maidstone rose to the challenge magnificently.  The music, so familiar as a cartoon soundtrack, came across vividly with razor sharp rhythmic playing and a palpable sense of enjoyment from the players.

This was followed by the Schumann Piano Concerto with the Welsh pianist Llŷr Williams as soloist.  In his sensitive and involving performance the bravura passages were beautifully integrated into the overall lyricism of the piece, and the woodwind soloists matched this in their contributions with a real sense of chamber ensemble.

After the interval the orchestra marked the 50th anniversary of Vaughan Williams death with “Job” (A Masque for Dancing); an enterprising choice of repertoire and a piece that demonstrates many facets of Vaughan Williams creative personality.  The multi-layered string writing, one aspect of Vaughan Williams’s style, was very effective in this performance.  Probably the greatest compliment that can be paid to conductor and orchestra is to say that their performance demonstrated what fine music there is in this score.

The Maidstone orchestra seems to go from strength to strength and with a season that promises nineteenth century symphonies, twentieth century concertos and orchestral showpieces, their audience has many more treats in store. 

 Review by Duncan Lord

In May 2002 Llyr Williams was selected for representation by the Young Concert Artists Trust. In the same year he won the Critics' Prize at the Edinburgh International Festival. In 2005 he received the Outstanding Young Artist Award from MIDEM Classique and the International Artist Managers' Association.