Chamber orchestras' major end-of-season events

The tempo of music in Manchester now relaxes for a while – in many ways the climax of the whole 2016-17 season was Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, conducted by Sir Mark Elder with combined forces of the Hallé, BBC Philharmonic and three choirs on 4^th June – you’ll find my review on http://www.theartsdesk.com/classical-music/gurrelieder-halle-bbcpo-elder-bridgewater-hall-manchester

But we still have some excitement to come. Thursday sees the world premiere of Colin Riley’s Double Cello Concerto, at Manchester Cathedral, with Manchester Camerata and soloists Guy Johnstone and Gabriella Swallow. It’s billed as the world’s first double cello concerto, and Riley has taken melodic patterns, harmonic progressions and dance form structures from Bach’s unaccompanied solo cello suites to make a concerto with ‘counterpoint high on the agenda’.

It’s in traditional three-movement form, however, Riley says, with ‘a sensuous double aria’ in the middle one. So perhaps a touch of the Bach two-violin concerto, also?

Haydn’s Symphony no. 38, Philip Glass’s Echorus for Two Violins and Strings, and Mozart’s Symphony no. 36 (the ‘Linz’) are also on the agenda, and Gábor Takács-Nagy conducts.

On Saturday the Northern Chamber Orchestra makes its long-awaited debut at The Stoller Hall in Chetham’s School of Music. This is a concert in aid of dementia charities, part of a new departure for the NCO under its manager Tom Elliott. But there’s a lot going for it in musical interest, too, putting as it does Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’ concertos against Philip Glass’s second violin concerto, aka ‘The American Four Seasons’, with Chloë Hanslip as soloist. And poet Mike Garry is providing new verses to link the music to its context.

Tom Elliott says: ‘Mind Music is the name of NCO’s awareness and fund raising campaign for dementia charities. Throughout the coming seasons, the orchestra will be

giving several high-profile concerts, which will raise vital funds for charities including Parkinson’s UK, the Alzheimer’s Society and the PSP Association.

‘NCO will also be embarking on a programme of small concerts and workshops in care homes aimed at taking the power of live classical music to people not always able to get into concert halls and investing in the general cause that aims to help people live well with dementia.

‘As well as offering obvious therapeutic benefits, these workshops will also provide crucial data that it is hoped will form the basis of new research into the ability of live music to actually improve and repair dementia sufferers’ cognitive function. Eighty per cent of the proceeds from ticket sales of this concert will be going to the three charities named above.

‘Everyone at the Northern Chamber Orchestra is thrilled to have such a wonderful new hall so close to their Manchester base, and they are very excited about making this one of their regular concert venues.’

He adds: ‘‘The PSP Association is particularly close to my heart, as I lost my father to this relatively rare form of dementia a few weeks ago. It was the dementia that the great Dudley Moore died of, also.’

The Stoller Hall’s opening in April was a major event in Manchester music, and if I’m not mistaken its razor-sharp acoustic is going to be ideal for expert small forces such as the NCO’s. Let’s hope this is the beginning of a continued NCO presence in Manchester – why should Macclesfield have all the fun?