KlezMahler – Aurora Orchestra, She’Koyokh, Nicholas Collon (conductor)

Aurora is an orchestra of exceptionally gifted soloists, as Timothy Orpen (clarinet) demonstrated with his stunning performance of Jörg Widman’s ‘Fantasie’. This segued smoothly into She’Koyokh’s beautifully plangent ‘Doina’. We were now ready for Mahler’s First Symphony prepared for just 15 players. As explained in a most illuminating pre-concert talk, we were in no way short-changed. Mahler x-rayed and under the microscope disclosed so many extra details, and with no loss of excitement or musical excellence.

Part 2 was a highly entertaining klezmer jamming session. Both ensembles played spontaneously for fun. Keep the bar open and we’d listen all night!

Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, 19 May 2014

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