The orchestra came alive under the baton of James Ross

The 50th Jubilee Season Guest Conductor Concert of the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka featured James Ross, who is no stranger to Sri Lanka having conducted two previous concerts, the first being in January 2001.

As on previous occasions the orchestra under his direction treated us to an exceptional performance. Unlike his previous concerts, the works performed, apart from the Overture to the “Barber of Seville” were not part of the popular repertoire. In fact, the orchestra played both the Bruch’s Violin Concerto and the Dvorak’s 8th Symphony, I believe, for the first time.

The Rossini’s Overture which opened the programme was able to silence the audience and the latecomers, with its loud chords. I was disappointed with the orchestra as I felt it hadn’t progressed much after the last concert that James Ross conducted. The precise bowing and intonation required in the runs was somewhat lacking.

Bruch’s 2nd Violin Concerto is in many ways quite different to his popular 1st Concerto. Its neglect seems surprising since it has moments of expressive beauty and elegance but its attraction lies more in the virtuosity of the soloist and Bruch’s desire to write for Pablo de Sarasate, the virtuoso violinist of his day, music that could show off his brilliance.

This concerto has a special significance for the soloist, Ananda Dabare, as he studied it and performed it at the Academy in Odessa, Russia. His performance, though competent, lacked lustre and brilliance. The orchestra gave the soloist generous support thanks to the direction of the conductor.

Dvorak’s 8th Symphony, (known as the 4th) sadly, less well known than the 9th, the New World, as it has a surfeit of melodic lines with much less formal symphonic form, is more a symphonic poem, in fact. The orchestra here has glorious opportunities to exhibit the solo skills of its composite instruments. Conductor Ross was certainly able to inspire the individuals in the orchestra to greater heights, but it is important that the solo instruments, when called upon to stand out from the rest, must make sure that they fulfil the highest standards possible, and avoid any wobble that may detract from the performance.

In this regard, I would be failing in my duty if I did not draw attention to the competent flute playing of young Jayamanne, whose name is not even in the list of participating members of the orchestra.

I think he deserved a special acknowledgement during the final applause that the orchestra received for an overall very satisfying performance. It certainly needed a competent conductor to bring out the best in our orchestra, which consists essentially of amateurs and semi-professionals.

Our regular conductors and budding conductors, I am sure, would have been glad of the opportunity of working under a professional conductor and obtaining another hands-on experience.