I had been intending to go to a performance at Kings Place of the Bach B Minor mass in the evening but that got postponed till October a few days earlier, so I was scrabbling around for other things to go to on Saturday at the last minute. Though I would never have gone to it in a million years before lockdown, I thought I should go to a ‘Vivaldi by Candelight’ late afternoon concert at St James’ Piccadilly. They were performing Pachelbel’s Canon, obviously Vivaldi;s Four Seasons and Bach’s Piano concerto no.4 BWV 1055.
And these are the guys at the sharp end of lockdown, I guess – free-lance musicians, not a salaried furloughed group like some of the big orchestras (OK, I know some are free-lancers, like the LSO), and probably no-one’s making a packet exactly in normal times – these were good musicians who have had a very tough time over the last 18 months. Apparently the Piccadilly Sinfonietta was formed only three years ago and had a packed schedule of concerts in 2019-20 in London, Manchester and further afield. I had actually – I realised – missed an opportunity to hear them in Sheffield Cathedral when I was at ‘Fidelio’. Anyway, I am glad they are working and that there was a decent crowd for the first of two concerts they were giving in London. The pianist was Warren Mailley-Smith, who heads up the group and they had a guest leader, Matthew Jones
Strangely, I don’t think I have ever sat down and listened to the Four Seasons, let alone heard it live in the concert hall, and I have to say I really enjoyed it – I hadn’t realised quite what a big role the lead violin has, and Matthew Jones was really very good. There were one or two momentary blips in ensemble, but really, this was a thoroughly enjoyable, thoroughly competent performance that made me enjoy this work afresh. I was glad I went. The slow movement of Winter’ I put alongside the ‘theme’ of the Goldbergs in my head as I walked across from Piccadilly to my next concert at the Cadogan Hall.
John's musical journey 