The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, under the focused guidance of its new principal conductor Alpesh Chauhan, presented a concert of surging energy and remarkable intensity at London's Royal Festival Hall. This performance, part of their "Collide" programme, showcased 160 young musicians who brought tremendous quality and personal touches to a diverse repertoire ranging from Wagner to contemporary pop influences.
A Unique Youthful Energy
There is always something extra at an NYO concert. More players cram onto the platform than usual, more raw energy fills the hall, and in recent seasons, more elements remind audiences that these are teenagers, not jaded professionals. This concert featured a semi-choreographed walk-on to a mashup of Raye and Chaka Khan, with percussion leading the way before the full orchestra joined in. Before each work, a player gave a short speech, sharing personal connections to the music. The encore was Jacob Collier's "Something Heavy," sung with additional choreography rather than played.
Chauhan's Focused Leadership
While other orchestras conducted by Alpesh Chauhan might not demand such theatricality, the tautness and focus of the NYO's playing often exceeded professional standards. Chauhan waited for absolute silence before cueing the cellos for the first notes of Wagner's Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde. The impossibly slender thread of sound grew into phrases of remarkable intensity, with each cello question landing on perfectly tuned woodwind chords. This blossomed into a performance of surging energy, its early rhythmic drive establishing a momentum that persisted through the music's resolution.
Vivid Musical Storytelling
The programme opened vibrantly with Joe Hisaishi's Symphonic Variation Merry-Go-Round + Cave of Mind, from his 2004 score for Howl's Moving Castle. Strings responded superbly to Chauhan's shaping of the whirling waltz, while wind and brass solos were excellently handled, and the piano captured the music's melancholy sweetness. A sequence of episodes from Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet followed, offering plenty of vivid moments. The orchestra sounded thrilling at emotional climaxes, with massed bass instruments providing a growling menace that underpinned the entire piece. This was a programme rooted in stories, compellingly narrated through music.
The NYO's Bridgewater Hall performance of this same programme will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on July 1st, allowing a wider audience to experience this exceptional display of youthful talent and artistic maturity.
