Reviews

We have been very fortunate over the years to have received a wealth of positive feedback after concerts from soloists, performers and member of our audiences alike.
These are just a few of the things people have said:

A ‘buzz’ of good energy I can honestly say it was the most enjoyable concert I’ve done in ages!  The orchestra was so sensitive and supportive, and it was a real treat to play the Tchaikovsky with you.  I think the Phil is going from strength to strength.  I felt there was a lovely ‘buzz’ – good energy both in the band and in the audience.  I always love coming to play with the Phil, and thank you for your very kind and supportive words.
Zoe Beyers , soloist in performance of Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Norwich Phil, 5 Feb 2022

 
 
 

Press Articles

Times have moved on, and the press rarely send reviewers to concerts these days. But here are a few reviews from yesteryear (click on items to expand): 

Uncle Sam hit Norwich big time on Saturday by way of the Norwich Phil’s ‘American Night’ – a shindig like no other which not only packed them in at St Andrew’s Hall but opened in a blaze of glory with a blistering rendering of Leonard Bernstein’s fiery overture to ‘Candide’.

Under the baton of Matthew Andrews, the Phil (admirably led by Elizabeth Marjoram) excelled in some fine and detailed playing delving deep into Bernstein’s score bringing out every nuance of his seemingly-effortless writing with the strings tight and precise in those tricky and exhilarating opening bars that really set the scene and, indeed, the pace of the night.

George Gershwin’s jazz-inspired F major piano concerto followed with star pianist Martin Roscoe in the hot seat as guest soloist. He delivered a technically-assured performance that would be hard to beat. The second movement was particularly pleasing particularly the passage featuring a lovely Bluesy-sounding muted trumpet solo evoking a desolate and bleak landscape.

There was no let-up whatsoever in the programme which continued with the stakes raised high by Aaron Copland’s ‘Billy the Kid’ suite played with vigour and determination finding the brass blowing in the style of Stan Kenton, the timpani and percussion in full flight and the decorated passages written for woodwind skilfully handled.

Samuel Barber’s Essay No.1 calmed things down a bit before Gershwin roared once more on to the bill with ‘An American in Paris’ featuring Parisian-style taxi horns adding that extra bit of authenticity to the piece. It rounded off a colourful and an unforgettable night witnessing Maestro Andrews driving his charges to an exciting conclusion that left the audience in raptures and most probably humming the tunes all the way home strolling along Avenue des Champs-Élysées – a long way off from Fifth Avenue!

How nice it would have been, though, if we had a Jimmy Cagney-style singer on hand to deliver an encore of that great American number ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy’. But you can’t have everything.

Tony Cooper, EEN 9th December 2018, online version
Republished with permission of the Eastern Evening News(www.eveningnews24.co.uk)

A bitter winter’s night proved no obstacle to a capacity audience for the NPO’s performance of Mahler 9, his last completed work.

It was an ambitious undertaking; a massive score that makes great demands on the players, and interpretively, on the conductor, yet it succeeded. Brilliantly.

The work begins with a long slow movement, the tender opening of which took a while to settle down, but conductor Matthew Andrews soon achieved the right balance between the greate climaxes and the more expansive music.

The two scherzo-like inner movements were brilliantly done, with much excellent wind playing, while the richness of the slow finale, especially the beauty of the string playing at the final close, was superb.

A triumph for Matthew Andrews, and for his splendid orchestra.

Frank Cliff, EDP 13th December 2017
Republished with permission of the Eastern Daily Press(www.edp24.co.uk)

It is surely a mark of the excellent reputation the NPO currently enjoy that there was a near capacity audience, foul weather notwithstanding, for Saturday’s concert.

Nor, with the possible exception of the Concerto was the programme an automatic audience puller, containing, as it did, some less familiar repertoire.

Šárka, the third tone poem in Smetana’s cycle, Ma Vlast, is seldom performed on its own, yet conductor Matthew Andrews’ vibrant account, which captured all the drama and lyricism of this legend of love and revenge, made one wonder why. The orchestra played with such confidence, it might have been part of their normal repertoire, and the wind playing, notably Bev Dubberley’s clarinet solo, was excellent.

Though best known in his lifetime for his film scores, there is more to Korngold’s violin concerto than richly melodic music. The work seems more impressive with each hearing, especially in a performance as rewarding as that given by the brilliant violinist Zoe Beyers. Excellent accompanying from Andrews, and dedicated orchestral playing.

Finally, it was good to hear a performance of Dvorak’s 5th symphony; delightful winds in the opening, the excellently-built climax to the finale a memorable ending to this splendid concert.

Frank Cliff, EDP 12th December 2016
Republished with permission of the Eastern Daily Press(www.edp24.co.uk)

Norwich Philharmonic Society celebrated its 175th season in truly spectacular style on Saturday with a performance of Mahler’s 8th symphony, the Symphony of a Thousand, so called because of its colossal forces; multiple choirs, eight solo singers and a huge orchestra.

Maybe not a thousand performers, but a capacity audience of almost twice that amount in the vast arena of the Norwich Showground: surely a mark of how much the city values its vibrant musical culture and its heritage.

Mahler 8 is the first wholly choral symphony, and the choral forcest involved: Norwich Philharmonic, King’s Lynn Festival, Sheringham and Cromer, and Norwich Cathedral choirs, responded to the music’s varied demands magnificently, from the initial tremendous outburst of veni creator spiritus to the magical final chorus mysticus.

The excellent team of soloists, sopranos Kirstin Sharpin, Katherin Broderick and Catherine May, mezzos Anne Marie Gibbons and Anna Burford, tenor Peter Wedd, baritone James Harrison and bass Richard Wiegold were equally brilliant, though Mahler’s taxing vocal writing produced the occasional harsh sounds from the sopranos, though not from Catherine May’s less taxing, but exquisite, Gretchen.

The combined orchestral forces of the Norwich Phil and the Academy of St Thomas, plus numerous extras, played superbly, though the fine detail of some of the quieter episodes was sometimes lost in what proved to be a surprisingly dead acoustic.

Highest praise to conductor Matthew Andrews, whose impeccable conducting and control over these vast forces made this such a memorable performance. there was a tremendous sense of occasion throughout the evening, and the spontaneous standing ovation at the end said it all.

Frank Cliff, EDP 23rd May 2016
Republished with permission of the Eastern Daily Press(www.edp24.co.uk)

Michael Nicholas’ fanfare rang out proudly. Then came Benjamin Britten’s marvellously imaginative National Anthem, beginning with hushed mystery and ending in full-throated triumph.

From this fine start the 175th birthday concert of the Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus went from strength to strength. The well-chosen programme of classical favourites was played with the confident skill and tremendous verve that we know we can always expect from these dedicated performers.

Conducted by David Dunnett, the singers fervently hymned Fortune from Orff’s Carmina Burana and found expressive quieter tones for the nostalgia of the slaves in Verdi’s Nabucco. For Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances they found a touch of sinuous exoticism before returning to their traditions with a rousing Hallelujah Chorus.

Under Matthew Andrews and led by Dominic Hopkins, the Orchestra, which had supported the singers with vivid accompaniment, gave full expression to the developing drama of Rossini’s William Tell Overture and the moving poetry of Dvorak’s New World Largo and Elgar’s Nimrod.

Played by Anne Duarte, the Phil’s newly acquired celeste featured attractively in the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy by Tchaikovsky. His famous 1812 overture complete with the crash of cannon, brought this well-deserved celebration to its fittingly festive conclusion.

Christopher Smith, EDP 21st March 2016
Republished with permission of the Eastern Daily Press(www.edp24.co.uk)

Once again, the Norwich Phil was on tremendous form, attracting a capacity audience and proving their concerts have become prime events in the Norwich musical calendar.

Apart from Beethoven’s Emperoro concerto, it was a programme of English Music, beginning with Vaughan Williams’ Norfolk Rhapsody. Conductor Matthew Andrews’ sensitive reading produced a finely-crafted performance, the fine wind playing and Caroline Shepherd’s beautiful viola solo capturing the evocative opening to perfection.

Young Estonian pianist Mihkel Poll was the admirable soloist in the Beethoven “Emperor” concerto. In the opening movement his playing sucessfully explored the poetic qualities of the music, though perhaps not quite enough of its grandeur. He gave a rapt and sensitive performance of the slow movement, and the finale, if a little lightweight, had sparkle.

Walton’s Symphony No 1 remains one of the great works of the 1930’s, and really is music of its time, hence plenty of jazzy syncopated rhythms as well as gloom and melancholy. Matthew Andrews really had the measure of this score, drawing superb ensemble from his players. Exciting, accurate, and with that feeling of spontaneity that gives a performance that extra dimension.

Absolutely splendid.

Frank Cliff, EDP 8th February 2016
Republished with permission of the Eastern Daily Press(www.edp24.co.uk)

Hearty congratulations to the Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus on the opening of its 175th season.

Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius was an ideal choice, suitable both for Rememberance-tide and for the celebratory occasion.

Moulding stirring climaxes, contrasting them in quieter passages with powerful emotions, David Dunnett marshalled great orchestral and choral forces. There were 200 disciplined, committed performers, with a semi-chorus adding variety in tone, and Timothy Patient at the organ.

Tenor Robert Murray gave a moving interpretation of the challenging role of Gerontius. Baritone Adam Green sang with vigour and dramatic emphasis, though rather darker colour might have been more apt for conveying the character of the Priest.

Diana Moore was the Angel. Sympathetic and understanding, she led Gerontius as his soul progressed. Her Alleluias, especially the last, were exhilarating proclamations of triumph.

Christopher Smith, EDP 9th November 2015
Republished with permission of the Eastern Daily Press(www.edp24.co.uk)

Aiming to speak to us all in his War Requiem, Benjamin Britten combined different traditions. Using plainchant to link ancient and modern, he turned to the traditions of the Latin Mass for both majesty and structure. On that he grafted an orchestral song cycle with texts by Wilfred Owen to ensure that the message was modern, personal and, at times, bitterly satirical.

To perform the work, large forces had to be assembled. David Dunnett conducted the Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, the UEA Choir and choristers from Norwich Cathedral while Matthew Andrews directed an Academicy of St Thomas instrumental ensemble.

Its role was to accompany Andrew Mackenzie-Wicks and Roderick Earle, the tenor and baritone soloists, in sensitive settings of Owen’s poertry, particularly the heart-rending rewriting of the story of Abraham and Isaac. In a quite different style, the soprano Geraldine McGreey soared with passion in the liturgical sections.

Bells tolled, trumpets sounded and the percussion pounded like artillery in a score with a rich variety of tone that often also spoke of a different sphere. The united power of the chorus made a contrast with the vulnerability of the male soloists that expressed the essence of the pity of war.

Christopher Smith, EDP 11th November 2013
Republished with permission of the Eastern Daily Press(www.edp24.co.uk)

Saturday evening’s concert of two large scale works for chorus and orchestra brought the Norwich Phil’s season to a triumphant close.

Jonathan Dove’s There was a Child was commissioned in 2009 by the Norfolk and Norwich Festival and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. A musical commemoration of the death of a friend’s 19-year-old son, it is a large scale work, scored for soprano and tenor soloists, choir and children’s choir and orchestra. Brilliantly orchestrated and with equally splendid writing for soloists, Dove uses a large number of poems from the 16th to the 20th century as text. This seems somewhat flawed as at a running time of 50 minutes the music becomes somewhat unfocused.
Even so, soprano Nicola-Jane Kemp and tenor Martin Hindmarsh were excellent soloists, conductor David Dunnett drew superb singing from the Norwich Phil Choir, Norwich Cathedral Choristers and Norwich Cathedral Girls Choir, and the NPO’s playing was exemplary.

If this was a musical feast, an even greater one followed in the second half: Prokofiev’s cantata Alexander Nevsky. David Dunnett conducted a performance which gripped from the magically atmospheric opening, where one could almost smell the cold of a Russian winter through the spectacular orchestral fireworks of the Battle on the Ice, to the great triumphal climax. Superb orchestral playing, equally fine choral singing, and a beautifully sung Lament by mezzo-soprano, Jennifer Westwood.

Frank Cliff, EDP 19th March 2012
Republished with permission of the Eastern Daily Press(www.edp24.co.uk)