Cormac Henry Archives - North West End UK

Grieg’s Piano Concerto – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

23Feb

By Mark HumphreysNo Comments

North West

Grieg’s Piano Concerto – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

“Easy on the banjos!” warned Eric Morecambe when André Previn (or Andrew Preview) famously attempted to conduct the Grieg Piano Concerto in the classic 1971 Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special. The one time I ever saw a banjo on stage with the RLPO my Facebook post quoting this zinging one-liner garnered precisely zero likes. It must be a generation thing. For this 2024 performance, Liverpool welcomed back its prodigal son and former Chief Conductor, Vasily Petrenko. Turning from the podium, orchestra poised to start, to acknowledge an errant mobile phone ringtone with a wry raise of the eyebrow, he held the audience in the palm of his hand - comic timing worthy of the much-missed double act themselves. First on the programme was Bohuslav Martinů’s La Bagarre, composed w...

Close Up Concert: Elegy – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

This delightful and varied evening of short classical pieces featured three outstanding players from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra - Cormac Henry on flute, Catherine Marwood on viola and Elizabeth McNulty on harp. I have to say that the combination of all three instruments produced the most exquisitely magical sound, and indeed all three musicians gave stellar performances throughout the evening. The concert featured Jean-Phillippe Rameau’s beautiful baroque piece Pieces de Clavecin (1706), it is such a dazzling and extravagant piece of work and one of the finest examples of early baroque music. Rameau is still regarded as one of France’s most important and influential composers and listening to this piece, you can easily understand why – it is a truly superb composition...

Sixteen Swans – Liverpool Philharmonic

Sixteen Swans was a collection of dramatic and enchanting music, which created a wonderful evening of high emotion played by very talented musicians. Conducted by Roderick Cox, this combination of Strauss, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius is a powerful combination which mesmerised and enthralled the captive audience. The dramatic opening of Strauss’ Don Juan with powerful percussion allowed the flutes, played by Cormac Henry and Helen Wilson, to really shine through with an air of mystery. The tinkling of a triangle provides an air of sweetness before the strings sweep away as gentle melodies contrast well with more intense themes. Accomplished pianist, Inon Barnatan plays on Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1. Another piece with a dramatic opening, staccato piano is complimented by pizzi...