Barlines at Dartington: Concert no 3

Somei Satoh: Kisetsu
Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante for winds and orchestra
Haydn: Symphony no 104

Melinda Maxwell, oboe; Janet Hilton, clarinet; Sue Dent, horn; Laurence Perkins, bassoon
Conductor: Diego Masson
Dartington Festival Orchestra

One of those concerts which gives the summer school students a chance to see and hear their masterclass tutors in action (in the Mozart). But also an opportunity to hear something a little different. Dartington has a long tradition of inviting resident composers, and this year it's the turn of the Japanese musical colourist Somei Satoh (there's a Japanese theme to the festival as a whole - it culminates in a couple of performances of Madama Butterfly, in which Festival Orchestra, student conductors and the opera class come together). Over the weeks of the school he has been holding composition classes, and various concerts have featured his work.

Working on a piece like Kisetsu poses particular challenges for an orchestra, particularly when the remainder of the programme is firmly classical and ends with as rumbustious a piece as Haydn 104. For a start, it is resolutely quiet, testing string harmonic technique and bow control under pressure, and relying on much ppp wind writing; and it's certainly no place for a percussionist with the DTs. It is also slow, very slow, with very few moving parts. As a result, any slight surge in volume or intensity is magnified. And there is a sense of anticipation, once each momentary bloom of timbre has subsided into silence, regarding what will come next.

But it's not just the performer's technical skill which is tested. Any ambient noise, a squeaky chair, a buzzing mute, is easily discernible. That's not to mention a violinist's stomach rumble (for that's what happened) causing the placid musical meniscus to tremble in a rather unexpected way.

Next: Haydn's Creation, with Aussie legend and the Bradman of the Baton, Sir Charles Mackerras (fingers crossed for the Ashes, eh, Sir C?)