Concert review by James Day from the April 2005 edition of 'Cambridgeshire Pride'. Used with permission.

Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra, West Road, 19 February 2005

A different leader

Oddly enough, it was a tribute to Martin West's skill as an orchestra trainer that the Cambridge Philharmonic Society's talented orchestra showed it was perfectly capable of managing without a conductor on the podium throughout its concert at West Road.

It was also a tribute to leader, Stephen Bingham, who not only led two of the items from his usual seat at the front desk of first fiddles, but calmly and unobtrusively directed the orchestra as well as playing the virtuoso solo part in Mendelssohn's well-loved Violin Concerto.

Add to that the fact that the string section was virtually at full strength (46 players on the programme, with very few absentees on the night) then you can well imagine how carefully Mr Bingham had rehearsed the orchestra for the ensemble to be so good and the tone - particularly of the string section - so full. He encouraged the players to listen to and watch one another and him as in a chamber music group.

The balance between soloist and orchestra in the Mendelssohn was excellent throughout and the give and take between them and Mr Bingham exemplary, particularly with the nimble woodwind section in the finale.

The other items were the overture to Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte - not trivialised by being rushed through at a hysterically hectic pace - and Schubert's delightful Fifth Symphony. Here again, the balance between the seven wind players and the 40-plus strings was very good; the tempi beautifully judged, the ensemble tight and precise, the sound warm and the rhythms lithe and sprightly. Mr Bingham told me afterwards that this concert was something of an experiment. I'm sure that everyone in the large audience would agree that it succeeded triumphantly.

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