National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, The Sage Gateshead

The feeling of anticipation was palpable as members of the 160-strong National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain took their places on the stage at The Sage Gateshead. After two-week residency at Durham University, preparing for the all-dance programme, they were bursting with enthusiasm. The evening, under the dynamic leadership of Paul Daniel, exploded into life with the overture, waltz and finale of Thomas Ades’ chamber opera Powder her Face. The twists and turns of the sliding and sometimes seductive dances were negotiated with zeal; bongos, slithering strings, muted and side drums all adding to the overall effect. Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances opened with a majestic Slavic swagger. With the orchestral forces at his disposal Daniel could blast your socks off and, when called for, he did. But it was a power perfectly modulated and was reined in for a supremely sensitive treatment of delicate waltz in the second dance. The woodwinds entwined magically around the flowing lilt of the strings, accentuating beauty of music. The last dance raced through to an explosive climax. The second half of the evening thrust the audience into a futuristic sound world created by George Benjamin. His Dance Figures is an elusive piece and thought provoking at that. The young players displayed an innate grasp of the idiom, giving full expression to the work’s dance energy. The evening was rounded off with Ravel’s La Valse. The mighty string section (including 40 violins, 18 violas, 17 cellos and 12 double basses) generated a swirling mass of surging energy. The percussion section punctuated the rhythms’ with unerring accuracy, driving the piece to a tumultuous and thunderous ending. Members of the brass section gave a brilliant encore. With inspired and inspiring talent like this the future of classical music is assured.