MUWO, as always, gave a strong performance. Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to 'Candide' engaged the audience. With able solos and attentive first flautists, good impressions were set. The Danceries by Kenneth Hesketh grew in dance after the short piccolo solo lilted stunningly. Many sections excelled with stellar flutes, tight bass parts, and tender clarinets. As for the oboe soloist, Jeremy Salter’s warm tone and phrasing were fantastic. After a disorderly reduction of the orchestra came Edward Gregson’s Tuba Concerto. Fred Lange Hewlett showed an unknown side to the tuba – a high in the concert. Tight yet tentative clarinets and saxophones and a well-conducted accelerando in the second movement made this a joy. Fred’s nimble playing and moving phrasing were impressive despite more intricate lines being lost in the top-heavy orchestra. Congratulations!
The Kárman Line by Meechan was a lively piece and well-articulated flutes again set the example for the rest of the orchestra and the brass also shone through. Clarinets and saxophones started wonderfully in a strong performance of Timothy Jackson’s Passacaglia with the melody effectively passed between sections. The conducting here was less risky but very clear. Yasuhide Ito’s Gloriosa was a charming highlight. Despite some weak entries from the orchestra, the trombones blended with the euphoniums wonderfully. Jemima Kingsland brought a sparkling sound to the often shrill piccolo and the extended techniques were applied beautifully. Always good to end on a high!

The lunchtime concert began our voyage into the world of the new-complexity that is Michael Finnissy. The first thing to stand out when one hears Finnissy is the sheer density of notes and rhythmic complexity. His labyrinthine scores unveil a series of emotions, associations and implications that actually represent how one hears a piece of music: natural, complex, mental connections are made and nothing is heard in isolation: indeed, a common misperception in Finnissy’s music is that it is difficult for the sake of being difficult, to elevate his music above that of simpler, “less understandable music” only comprehendible by the virtuoso. We also heard music from undergraduate student composers Jack Sheen and Chloe Knibbs and post-graduate composers Emma Wilde Jose Guillermo Puello. The day continued with a piano recital by Finnissy before returning to Vaganza for the evening concert.  

What is rarely remarked about Western art music is its capacity to terrify you. Take the performance by Finnissy of his Verdi Transcriptions, (on solo piano). About 12 minutes into, what the Guardian’s Tom Service describes as “dense clouds of virtuosic modernistic chiaroscuro” (no? Me neither…) Finnissy launches into, what can only be described as an attack on the piano, battering, punching , and crunching it with his fists, arms and elbows. Which from a slight elderly man in a concert setting was quite something. Similarly Elizabeth Lutyens piece The Lament of Isis for solo soprano was a virtuosic display of screeching and weeping sounds, and a deeply intense vocal performance.

Of all the student compositions, I was especially intrigued by Jack Sheen’s piece Six little toy boxes, all lined up which innovatively transformed the piano – via prepared blutac on strings – into a warped almost electronic sound that reminded me of the twisted world of Flying Lotus. Which is quite an achievement. I also enjoyed Nuria Bonet’s Fort Greene, which, with its scoring for two outrageously cute mini toy pianos (yes, you can have a cute piano) was simultaneously amusing and sincere, and Ralph Warman’s composition Winter, a work for six unaccompanied voices that was deliciously crunchy, beautiful, and cold.

Saturday 20th October’s Symphony Orchestra concert in the Whitworth Hall was a rare opportunity to see one of longest and most demanding works in the standard orchestral repertoire, Mahler’s 3rd Symphony, and Ligeti’s contrastingly eerie shadow-world of Lontano. And sweet baby Jesus, what performances they were of this inspired but very ambitious piece of programming. Both pieces presented enormous individual challenges to the conductors, the performers, and perhaps most importantly to the audience itself, most of whom very rarely sit down and listen to music in such a colossal form (for example the Mahler symphony can last up to 100 minutes).

First up was the contemporary Hungarian composer Ligeti’s piece Lontano. A menacing yet restrained world of hidden shapes and threats - this piece features extensively on film scores such as ‘The Shining’ and ‘Shutter Island’ - this was effectively conducted by final year student Will Hooker and well-played by the largely string-heavy orchestra. One tiny gripe here, the petty dilettante that I am, would be the lack of any atmospheric lighting that would’ve reinforced the quietly terrifying nature of the music. But oh well, I’ll get over it.

Then onto old Gustav Mahler. Listening to one of his symphonies has often been described as reading a condensed diary of someone’s life - complete with triumphs and defeats, joy and despair - and compiled and concentrated into one vast object. (Actually I’m just making this up, but you get the picture). The sheer size and volume of this piece is immense, containing a massive orchestra, a choir, off stage drums and trumpeter, and solo alto. And it was simply brilliant. The level of concentration and expertise from conductor Mark Heron, the orchestra, and the soloists (special mention to the beautiful voice of Rhia Douty), was nothing short of incredible.

This was an intense and sometimes challenging concert from the perspective of the modern listener, but a very impressive achievement for all involved. Well done to one and all.

Last Wednesday saw the first Music Society Band Night take place, an event whose line-up was made up solely of Music Society members and their bands. Giving the evening a relaxed start was Chloë Foy. Chloë’s storytelling and the musical interactions between her and her two accompanying players, including some mesmerising three part vocal harmonies, kept the audience enthralled throughout her set. Her upcoming single I Gotta Feeling, her set closer enjoyed an especially warm reception from the crowd.

The next act to perform was Jonny Breakwell and his band. Jonny’s singer-songwriter style was personalised with the addition of cello and violin. Shortly before his single Emily was performed, a broken string on Jonny’s guitar became the precursor to a fantastically received impromptu Irish jig jam, led by violinist Ellie Gaynard and other band members joining in to a rapturous reception.

Next, giving their debut performance, was Logan’s Runners. Their set was solid and confident, with their mix of piano-led, calm songs being starkly juxtaposed with heavier, guitar based rock. The keyboard solos were well utilised, and the presence of strings meant that Logan’s Runners are more than just a five-piece rock band.

The penultimate act to perform was Lesbian Plebian. The band entered with a two minute, choreographed dance routine, and the four members wore all manner of costumes, from suit and driving goggles to duffel coat and boxers. The music itself, an overblown Rage Against the Machine parody, paled in comparison to the visual entertainment that the band provided.

The headline act of the evening, Funkin’ Massive Party Band, managed to get everybody in the room dancing. Playing a set filled with covers and mash-ups, the highlight being Superstitious/Thriller/Ghostbusters, and with many spectacular saxophone solos throughout, the band brought the live music to a spectacular close.