On Saturday 18 October, the Hallé Orchestra joined us here in Leeds for a night to show us the strengths of a large Symphony Orchestra. If you’ve never been to the Town Hall for a concert, the International Concert Series is a great chance to try something a bit different for only £5.

The concert started promptly with Rossini’s Silken Ladder Overture, which was well played but without the emotion that oozed out of the rest of the evening’s performances. Jack Liebeck, young and dressed in a sharp dark grey suit, then took to the stage to perform Dvořák’s Violin Concerto. I don’t believe I’d ever heard the piece in full, but Liebeck’s interpretation was rather intense and evocative. He seemed both professional and relaxed on stage, standing relaxed with his hands in his pockets whilst waiting to play. It was a very technical and incredibly expressive performance.

The Hallé are not only renowned as one of the oldest orchestras in Britain, (they were founded in 1857) but for their performances of music by English composers. After the interval, we were treated to Vaughan Williams’ A London Symphony. The orchestra was noticeably larger in size for the second half, and it did make me question how they had managed to fit quite so many musicians into one place – at least 20 violins. The resulting sound was well-rounded, wonderfully voluptuous, and powerful in the louder sections – you could feel the brass through your feet. The piece paints a picture of London, and showed the orchestra’s strengths; whimsical wind passages punctuated the sweeping string sections whilst the percussion and vibrant brass took hold of the powerful sections giving bright contrasts.

Overall the concert was a good one, despite the dull tails and out-of-place Rossini. The rest of the programme really gave the orchestra time to shine; the sounds that the musicians made as one entity were truly spectacular and would definitely leave one wanting more.

Beverley Logan