Review: A Journey To Szentendre
A Journey To Szentendre...
Dora Stoutzker Hall, RWCMD
Thursday 19th January 2012
When I first read that in Cardiff there would be something about Szentendre I couldn't believe it. I was just searching for more and more information about this event and I knew in that moment, I would have to be there. But... what does "Szentendre" mean?
Szentendre is a riverside town, near to the capital city of Hungary, my home-country. It's a really beautiful place with old Hungarian buildings, lots of galleries and museums. It's a "must see", when a tourist comes to Hungary and it's a "must see" for me every summer. Just to have an ice cream, get lost on the narrow cobblestone streets and sitting next to the river Danube and watch the birds and boats.
A piece about this Hungarian town was performed on the 19th of January in the Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama. The title A Journey To Szentendre was not only the title of the concert evening played by the Sinfonia Newydd but also a title of a piece from a young Welsh composer. That is what is so important for the Sinfonia Newydd: to focus and deliver on contemporary music from talented up and coming contemporary Welsh composers. The performers of the ensemble are also young musicians, these are the reason why this evening was so fresh, varied and different from the "typically classical music events".
After a calm and melodic opening from Lewis Furber (English Rhapsodic No. 2 for chamber orchestra) came the first musical "game" from Benjamin Vaughan (Puzzle Piece Ultimono for chamber orchestra), whose two other pieces (Journey To Szentendre for symphony orchestra and Prelude To A Dream) I also could hear on that evening. Pieces from David Harrington (Metamorphosis for cello and string orchestra), Lewis Furber (Eighty-Eight At Midnight for soprano, piano and string orchestra) and James Flight (Three Bowls Singing for symphony orchestra) were also in the repertoire of the ensemble. Special guests of this evening were Huw Williams guest conductor, Phillippa Scammell sopranist and Rosie Biss cellist.
At this concert I heard lots of good tunes and musical pieces, but I have decided to focus on only one in detail. I think it's quite clear, which one I have chosen...
The piece Journey To Szentendre was inspired by a train journey of the composer, Benjamin Vaughan to Szentendre. The piece represented all the sounds the composer heard whilst on the train journey from the capital city of Hungary to this town: the grinding sound of the wheels, the chat of the passengers and also the shout of a woman, who's trying to catch the train. The music is lifelike, you have the feeling you are one of the passengers and you are sitting on the train. What made the music unique was a small melodic fragment, the specific signal of the closing the doors of the train. For me, who has travelled several times on this train and heard this little sequence often, it was really funny to hear it from an orchestra. This sequence is a piece of Hungary and it made the whole music interesting. If you would like to listen this piece from Benjamin Vaughan, there is a video about the workshop.
I really enjoyed this evening. The musicians of the Sinfonia Newydd did a brilliant job! I would recommend them for everybody who likes contemporary orchestra music and likes when composers experiment with instruments and sounds.
If you would like to see more pictures of the concert click here.
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