Reviews
We will be adding your reviews of shows and events throughout the course of this year’s feva festival.
If you would like to submit a review, please complete the form below:
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Yorkshire Wind Orchestra - Sunday 15th August
Janet Bellamy | 20/08/2010At last year's FEVA, the Yorkshire Wind Orchestra gave a concert of film music, which was very well received. On Sunday 15th August, in Holy Trinity Church, they returned with a programme of "Music from the Stage". The technical prowess of the orchestra is very high, coupled with great attack, fine tuning and, most-importantly, extremely musical phrasing. Keiron Anderson, the conductor, is a well-known figure and he brought out the inherent qualities of the various stage works. He clearly has an affinity with this type of music, as the passion, sadness and tenderness of Les Miserables showed. A man in the audience was observed to be in tears near the end of this selection of music from the show. Another highlight was the section from My Fair Lady, a personal favourite of mine. Most bands can manage loud and fast, but the expressivity lavished on On the street where you live, and the tender ache of I've grown accustomed to her face brought a lump to the throat. The concert began with Sir Charles Mackerras' coupling together of tunes from Gilbert and Sullivan operas, Pineapple Poll. Mackerras died recently, and this ballet score had all the the joy one always associated with his music-making. The rythmical attack was superb here and set the tone for the rest of the concert. Some of the music made acute musical demands on the players, especially the music from West Side Story, by Bernstein. There was a hint of tension in the rhythms just occasionally, but this stirred the soul, everybody clearly enjoying themselves. A special mention must go to the Principal Clarinet, whose virtuosity shone out in the Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor, by Borodin. At a strapping tempo, he produced a solo of clarity and cossack fire, very impressive! The other works performed were a selection from Miss Saigon, Phantom of the Opera and Porgy and Bess. All gripped the attention and the enthusiastic response from the near-capacity audience was generous and obviously-heartfelt. British people don't often shout out "Bravo" after a piece, but there were a few "Bravos" shouted out today. The concert was made more personal and friendly by the hilarious introductions from Keiron Anderson, who had the audience in stitches with his wit. One came away from the concert with a warm and satisfied glow, a couple of hours to treasure!
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Bob Fox at the Half Moon - 15th August
Julie Bradbury-Sharp | 17/08/2009Absolutely brilliant! Thanks for a great night, venue small but cosy. Please can we have him next year perhaps with others at the frazer theatre or somewhere!
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Yorkshire Wind Orchestra - 16th August 2009
Nick Garside | 17/08/2009The Yorkshire Wind Orchestra gave a twilight concert at Holy Trinity Church in Knaresborough as part of the FEVA festival. The Yorkshire Wind Orchestra, a regional orchestra conducted by Kieron Anderson, presented an exciting programme of film music to an audience of over a hundred people. The concert opened with a rousing performance of the classic western genre, 'The Big Country" which the orchestra followed with a medley of "Hollywood Blockbusters" written by the film composer James Horner, including extracts from Apollo 13, Braveheart, An American Tail and Titanic. This music is technically very difficult and the YWO delivered it with consummate ease, showing just how accomplished they are as an orchestra. The next piece was an entertaining and original score by Paul Hart called "Cartoon", a pastiche of the 1930's cartoon music, or a big Tom and Jerry Romp with tease and chase and strutting swagger. The percussion section of the orchestra delivered their whole armoury including possibly the kitchen sink! The first half ended with "Hymn to the Fallen" from Saving Private Ryan, a wonderful and emotional contrast to the previous piece and then a medley of three John Williams "Symphonic Marches" to take the concert to the interval. The second half started with the rousing theme tune from 'Thunderbirds", and then "Radio Days" a delightful walk down memory lane with an evocation of a classic era in BBC Broadcasting. The piece written by the conductor Kieron Anderson, was based on music from "Workers' Playtime", "Listen With Mother" and "Down Your Way". The audience had smiles of fond memories by the end. The concert headed to the close very much like the first half with the orchestra performing arrangements of film music by John Williams. The "Harry Potter Symphonic Suite" took all the well known themes from the first film the Sorcerer's Stone showng why John Williams is always in such demand as a composer. The concert ended with the majestic and memorable score from "Jurassic Park". This was an excellent and exciting concert from the Yorkshire Wind Orchestra and if you were not there then you missed a treat. The orchestra will hopefully be back at the festival next year and it is definitely one that you should look out for and mark in your diaries.
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Camera Club Annual Exhibition - 13-23 August
JC | 15/08/2009The display at the library shows the camera club's recent annual competition winners. Five different categories of photographs are on display - Portrait, Pictoral, Annual, Water and Decay. The collection covers a wide range of subjects with landscapes from Knaresborough to Yosemite and natural subjects including Koi Carp and Gorillas. I found all of the photographs evocative in different ways and particularly liked those with vibrant colours such as "Koi Reflections" and "Potting Shed". The exhibition is an inspiration to anyone who enjoys taking photographs, although the standard set by the Camera Club would be difficult to match!
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Images of Knaresborough - 14-23 August
JC | 15/08/2009I enjoyed viewing the diverse range of paintings in this exhibition. It is interesting to see how the various artists have depicted Knaresborough in their work and although the subject remains the same, the paintings are all very different. Detailed watercolours from the 1800s contrast with more abstract works from this decade. It was particularly fascinating to look at each painting and see how some structures such as the castle keep have remained the same for centuries whilst certain views such as the riverside landscape have changed more dramatically.
