Review: City of London Sinfonia, Leeds Town Hall, Saturday, February 18, 2017

BENJAMIN Britten was recuperating from major heart surgery when he composed his Suite on English Folk Tunes in 1974. The subtitle, A Time there Was, is taken from a poem by Thomas Hardy and almost certainly alludes to Britten's knowledge of his own impending mortality. This is expressed by the strings, harp and a lone bell in the folk tune, the Bitter Withy. The City of London Sinfonia's translucent performance of the Suite under the exuberant direction of renowned clarinetist Michael Collins revealed a quirky humour and underlying poignancy in this valedictory work.

The soulful voice of the clarinet inspired Gerald Finzi to write his Concerto for Clarinet and string orchestra in 1949. Michael Collins' was as eloquent an interpreter of the virtuosic solo part as he was moulding the phrases of Finzi's idiomatic writing for the strings.

A mood of wistfulness prevailed in The Lark Ascending, Vaughan Williams' elegaic essay for solo violin and small orchestra. Sinfonia leader Alexandra Wood virtually took flight; she soared upwards in fulsome tone towards a cloudless azure sky depicted by delicate brush strokes of orchestral colour.

Beethoven's Symphony No 7 in A emerged in startling clarity with just twenty strings, two each of woodwind, three horns, two trumpets and timpani - a staggering tour de force from timpanist Tristran Fry.

Michael Collins wonderfully conveyed the opening movement's momentum, an achingly beautiful Allegretto and a good humoured Scherzo. The relentlessly obsessive rhythmic drive of the Finale unleashed a storm of cheers, bravos and stamping of feet.

Geoffrey Mogridge