A relaxing showcase of classical music
For one weekend only, the Guildhall School presents a music festival featuring student-professor collaborations showcasing talented current students, performances in collaboration with the Yale School of Music, as well as a performance from the Elemore Quartet. The Sunday afternoon concert features compositions by Mozart, Frank Bridge, Arvo Pärt and Louis Verne.
The pieces were captivating and executed to perfection, showcasing, as always, the incredibly talented students at the Guildhall School. Some pieces sounded familiar, probably because they had been used on a film’s soundtrack, but there was a good balance of unfamiliar too, though that depends on how knowledgeable you are about classical music. Even if you aren’t, the pieces selected were uniquely beautiful and it was very easy to appreciate the talent of the composer and the performance. The concert also highlighted how talented the professors are and the experience that they bring to the school, and it was good to see both student and teacher perform alongside each other, something that almost feels unique.
The only thing that let down the overall concert a little was the changeover in performances, which felt somewhat slow, and the audience did chat amongst themselves whilst the stagehands set up. Likewise, instruments being tuned up on stage felt unnecessary and something that could have been done backstage, but it didn’t seem to bother the audience and perhaps it is quite normal for that to happen. With the afternoon feeling relaxing, maybe a quicker turnaround would have killed the atmosphere.
Overall, the pieces were performed wonderfully, and it was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon. It was very easy to get swept up in the music, though not knowing much about classical music, there were times where the whole concert did feel a little repetitive, even though obviously there were several different compositions. But this didn’t appear to affect any other audience members, so it could just be a personal response.
The students are incredibly talented, and any show I’ve seen performed by the Guildhall School has been professional and high quality. If you are a classical music fan, or even if you are not, it was an enjoyable showcase of classical pieces. In one piece, a professor even gave a little backstory as to why it was chosen, which was a nice touch as it might not have been known to everyone in the audience. This show’s run has now concluded, with it being played at Milton Court Concert Hall.