The Norwich Philharmonic Society plays a vital role in the musical life of the fine city of Norwich and its wider area offering performances of a consistently high standard and attracting strong support from local music-lovers.
And to kick off the new season (Saturday, 7th November, St Andrew’s Hall, 7.30pm), the Norwich Phil will salute and commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Benjamin Britten with the combined forces of the Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra, the Norwich Philharmonic Chorus and the Choristers of Norwich Cathedral Choir coming together for a grand performance of his deeply moving work, War Requiem, conducted by Matthew Andrews and Ashley Grote.
A major figure in 20th-century British musical life, Edward Benjamin Britten (he dropped his first name early in life) was born a Suffolk lad on 22nd November 1913 (which happens to be St Cecilia’s Day, the patron saint of music) at 21 Kirkley Cliff Road, Lowestoft. His father practiced as a dentist; his mother, an amateur choral singer.
But practically forgotten about nowadays is to the fact that Britten forged his early musical talents in Norfolk and, especially, in Norwich. From the tender age of 10, he regularly visited the city for viola lessons with Mrs Audrey Alston, a good friend of his mother and a member of the Norwich String Quartet.
She was heavily involved with classical music in Norwich and practically knew everyone in the business including the eminent Brighton-born composer, Frank Bridge, who studied at the Royal College of Music from 1899 to 1903 under Charles Villiers Stanford. He lodged with Mrs Alston while attending meetings of the Norfolk & Norwich Triennial Festival held at St Andrew’s Hall.
What could well be said to be an important part of Britten’s musical education occurred at St Andrew’s Hall on 30th October 1924 when he witnessed Frank Bridge conducting his suite for orchestra, The Sea, while three years later, on 27th October 1927, Mrs Alston urged Bridge (who was in the city conducting the première of his latest work, Enter Spring) to meet the young, aspiring and talented composer. He felt reluctant at first but following an inspection of Britten’s music, Bridge heartily accepted him as one of his very few composition pupils. The rest is history!
Another important aspect relating to Britten’s connection with Norwich came in 1963 when he was invited by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia, Frank Thistlethwaite, to offer advice about setting up a music department.
This idea came to fruition two years after their meeting. Dutifully, the University of East Anglia conferred the degree of Doctor of Music on Britten on 11th November 1967. The first UEA director of music, Dr Philip Ledger, was only 27 when he was appointed in October 1965. His tenure lasted for eight years which included three years as Dean of the School of Fine Arts and Music. Sadly, though, the UEA music department no longer exists receiving the dreaded axe in 2014, a decision made by the UEA Council in 2011.
However, to cement relationships between Town & Gown, the first big offering that came from UEA were a couple of grand performances of War Requiem presented in Norwich Cathedral on 1st/2nd December 1967 bringing together the Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra (led by Colin Clouting) and the Norwich Philharmonic Chorus, the UEA Choir and the Suffolk Singers with members of the English Chamber Orchestra, the Ambrosian Singers and Brian Runnett (Norwich Cathedral’s organist) along with the choristers of Norwich Cathedral and boys from Taverham Hall Preparatory School.
There were about 400 performers in all while the soloists comprised Peter Pears, Thomas Hemsley and Mary Wells (Dr Ledger’s wife). Philip Ledger conducted the main musical forces while Benjamin Britten directed the Melos Ensemble and Frederick Firth (Norfolk County Council’s music advisor) the boys’ choirs.
The Norwich Philharmonic Society is so closely associated with the cloistered surroundings of St Andrew’s Hall and one memorable concert presented there by the Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra fell on 3rd February 1955 when they performed Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings conducted by the composer with the soloists comprising Peter Pears and Dennis Brain.
By sheer coincidence on the day that Britten died (4th December) a concert devoted solely to his works also took place in St Andrew’s Hall by UEA Choir and Norwich Sinfonia conducted by Professor Peter Aston and Julian Webb featuring Kenneth Bowman as soloist in the lovely cantata Saint Nicolas set to a text by Eric Crozier and completed in 1948.
However, many of Norwich Phil’s strong battalion of supporters will, no doubt, remember their 2013 performance of War Requiem in St Andrew’s Hall (where else!) marking the composer’s centenary. A performance of character, strength and conviction. Therefore, for the Phil’s forthcoming staging of War Requiem, it will surely echo that performance as the trio of soloists is headed up by none other than the internationally acclaimed tenor, James Gilchrist.
From his early days as a choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, through stints with The Sixteen and The Tallis Scholars, Gilchrist – who has built an enviable reputation for his mastery of English music – has become one of the finest tenor soloists of his generation, in demand throughout the world while harbouring a broad repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary music.
Born and raised on the bonnie, bonnie, banks o’ Loch Lomond, the soprano, Lee Bisset, received her career break as a highly-valued member of English National Opera’s Young Artist Programme progressing to perform in some of the world’s major opera houses and concert halls gaining particular acclaim for her Wagnerian roles. For instance, she recently sang to great acclaim the pivotal role of Brünnhilde in Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung in Longborough Festival Opera’s stunning production of Der Ring des Nibelungen.
A winner of the prestigious Kathleen Ferrier Award, Gareth Brynmor John’s rich, textured baritone voice surely fits Britten’s music well and, indeed, the English repertoire overall. For instance, he recently delivered a gifted and outstanding performance of Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs with Denmark’s Aalborg Symphoniker. His international operatic portfolio is wide and varied and includes many principal roles with Welsh National Opera.
As we mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Britten, I lovingly recall his prophetic statement: ‘I want my music to be of use to people, to please them, to enhance their lives.’ Perfect, Ben, perfect!
The Norwich Phil’s new season continues at a blazing pace with a concert dubbed Northern Lights offering an attractive and appealing programme featuring the Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Matthew Andrews in a programme of great pieces penned by Nordic composers.
Therefore, Devon-based pianist, Rupert Egerton-Smith, takes centre stage to play Grieg’s Piano Concerto, the first performance of this fine work by the Phil in over 20 years and, of course, one of best-loved piano concerti to be found in the repertoire. An excellent pianist, Egerton-Smith performed in front of HM Queen Camilla at Salisbury Cathedral in 2024 during celebrations marking the centenary of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue returning to Carnegie Hall later the same year to perform his arrangement of Agosti’s Firebird transcription to a standing ovation.
The concert also features Sibelius’ popular ode to Finnish nationalism Finlandia as well as Grieg’s Funeral March in Memory of Rikard Nordraak, a deeply moving tribute to his fellow Norwegian composer who died so tragically young. Completing the programme is Lars-Erik Larsson’s wonderful Third Symphony, a delightfully tuneful, colourful piece that deserves to be better known beyond the borders of the composer’s beloved country, Sweden.
The Phil’s big annual family rave comes with their Family Christmas concert (Tuesday, 22nd December, St Andrew’s Hall, 7.30pm) promising a show bursting with energy and traditional festive fun punctuated by a host of well-loved seasonal favourites served up by the Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra and the Norwich Philharmonic Chorus conducted by Matthew Andrews and Ashley Grote respectfully with special guest choir – Sistema Norwich Children’s Choir.
Fiesta time! The second half of the season opens with Ravel’s Rhapsodie Espagnole (Saturday 14th February, St Andrew’s Hall, 7.30pm) followed by a concert featuring Fauré’s Requiem and Poulenc’s Gloria (Saturday, 13th March, 7.30pm) while the season ends (Saturday, 8th May, 7.30pm) with the Choir of the Musik-Institut Koblenz teaming up with the Norwich Philharmonic Chorus and Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra for a performance of Mozart’s Coronation Mass in C conducted by Ashley Grote and Matthew Andrews respectively.
Ticking like a metronome, the Phil’s annual family-oriented concerts receive a couple of performances on Saturday, 20th March (1.30pm/3.30pm) at the King’s Centre, King Street, Norwich, featuring the Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Matthew Andrews. Specially designed for children aged 5-11, the shows feature a host of well-loved short pieces from the orchestral repertoire such as Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, a work depicting all of the different instruments of the orchestra while the music springs to life as if by magic with illustrations projected on to a giant screen by popular children’s author, illustrator and presenter, James Mayhew. There’s a chance, too. For the ‘little-ones’ to try out some of the instruments during the interval. Crikey! A popular family musical knees-up, it’s always well attended. Book the date!
BOOKING: Online from TicketSource.
Phone: 0333 666 3366 (Mon-Sat 9am-5pm excluding public holidays)
Check out the full season by visiting their website.
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