THE HPO were joined for their summer concert by young cellist Andrew Crick as soloist. Andrew was invited to play a concerto with the orchestra as the winner of the concerto class in the Harrogate Competitive Festival.

He chose to perform Haydn's C major concerto – a favourite with musicians and audiences alike, despite the work only being rediscovered in 1961. The concert began with Bartok's Romanian Folk Dances and concluded with Mozart's "Haffner" Symphony.

The rustic nature of the dances was captured well by the clarinets with an intentionally raucous tone, but perhaps not quite enough by the rest of the orchestra who seemed to be playing with too much restraint.

However, the piece was not without notable highlights which included an atmospheric piccolo solo and a velvety violin solo, delivered beautifully by the orchestra's leader Sarah Crick.

The concerto began with a poised, elegantly stylish orchestral tutti. The soloist entered confidently with a resonant C major chord and a restatement of the main theme. Andrew tackled this technical challenge with a cool head, often resulting in moments of stunning virtuosity.

Throughout the concerto, the balance between soloist and orchestra was impeccable. Andrew managed to project throughout the range of the instrument without ever forcing his tone.

Eric Clark

Andrew Crick will be performing the Haydn concerto again on Sunday, August 17 in St John's Church, Knaresborough.

www.harrogatephilharmonicorchestra.org.uk