REVIEW: Pictures from St Petersburg
Posted on October 27, 2010
Philip Radcliffe writes in CityLife
“Two distinguished musicians, who were boys together in Budapest and went to the Liszt Academy there, were reunited for a concert in Manchester.
Conductor Gabor Takacs-Nagy, the Camerata’s Musical Director-elect, and master cellist Miklos Perenyi were both early starters. Gabor began learning the violin aged eight and Miklos was only five when he had his first cello lesson. They came together to celebrate Manchester’s twin city of St. Petersburg in the Camerata’s Urban Symphonies series.
The evening began with a new work by the young Manchester composer, 29-year-old Nina Whiteman. Inspired by the River Neva, which flows through St Petersburg, her seven-minute piece tried to capture the turbulence and the quietness of the waterway.
The concert was full of interest and the celebration ended with an exhilarating performance of Prokofiev’s First Symphony, which had the Leader practically dancing out of his seat with commitment. The high-speed finale was so good that Gabor had the orchestra play it again as an encore.
On this showing, the Camerata is in excellent shape – and in very good hands for the future.”
Read the review on the CityLife website
Go behind the scenes of an exciting day for Manchester Camerata