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The
Guardian / March 2011 ****
Tim Ashley
With
London residencies at Kings Place and LSO St Luke's, the Aurora Orchestra, founded
six years ago, is riding high, and after their latest concert it is easy to understand
why. The players are young and dexterous; enthusiasm and exactitude go hand in
hand. Founding conductor Nicholas Collon, similarly, has the rare knack of combining
self-deprecating charm with great intelligence. They seem comfortable in Kings
Place, too, where the acoustic can be merciless, but where music also acquires
an in-your-face immediacy.
Part
of the Mozart
Unwapped season, the programme was woven round two symphonies, Nos 27
and 31, and two of Mozart's grandest concert arias, Non Pił, Tutto Ascoltai and
Bella Mia Fiamma, sung by Rosemary Joshua. Voices sound big in this venue, and
we were repeatedly reminded of the warmth of Joshua's tone and of her restrained
yet passionate way with words. Non Pił, Tutto Ascoltai evolves into an emotionally
charged duet for soprano and solo violin, graciously played by Thomas Gould. The
chromaticism of Bella Mia Fiamma makes it a vocal obstacle course, but Joshua
was pitch-perfect and gloriously incisive.
The
symphonies were also very classy. No 27, with its teasing false endings and suave
elegance, was full of sly exuberance, while No 31, "Paris", gleamed with hauteur
and contrapuntal brilliance. There were a couple of shorter pieces, too - the
Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, furtive yet noble, and the dark, obsessive
Adagio and Fugue in C minor. The latter took a while to gather momentum, though
the Fugue, when we reached it, was perfect in its implacable weight and grandeur.
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