WARWICKSHIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Warwick Hall, 12 October 2024.

Seventeen-year old Ryan Martin Bradshaw’s début with Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra (WSO) playing Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 2, was a notable highlight of last weekend.  Rachmaninov had complete technical command of the piano and gained fame by writing  bravura music.  Bradshaw, a student at Rugby School, tutored by Pascal Nemirovski at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC), is about to submit his application Cambridge University. What a coup for WSO, Rugby School, RBC and, potentially, Cambridge to have such a very talented young man in their midst.

Demonstrating powerful authority and presenting a very personal interpretation of this challenging concerto, Bradshaw took care to collect  himself by lightly touching the keys and composing himself before launching into the famous eight-chord opening.  That lengthy pause before his  launch, at a furious pace, was as memorable as anything that followed!  Conductor, Roger Coull is the most empathetic of conductors, fully appreciative of his responsibility for giving his young charge all the support he could.  As expected, he did, and in so doing drove the willing WSO players beyond the tempos of rehearsals in the opening moderato! In contrast, the delivery of the  gorgeous mid section of the movement was simply exalted beauty. Bradshaw’s thoughtfully presented adagio was controlled, with a similar discipline shown in the last movement, allegro scherzando. Warwick Hall’s Steinway has seldom witnessed such an attentive pianist with a bewitching touch. Standing ovations are infrequent at Warwick Hall; deservedly, Bradshaw received one.

With seven double basses, twelve cellos, vast first and second violin sections, WSO is in a very strong position to set in motion the most popular of the Sibelius symphonies – No 2, which marks a transition between the youthful and the mature composer. Fine oboe solos, stimulating brass displays and carefully crafted percussion playing resulted in a very exciting performance leading to a monumental climax. The concert opened with Kodály’s Dances of Galánta, a work conceived after a pilgrimage with Bartók to collect folk songs on wax cyluinders! WSO’s strong wind section deserve the plaudits for delightful clarinet, flute, oboe and piccolo solos. A very fine start to this 2024/25 season.