This was billed as a launch, even though Chromatica Orchestra is essentially a rebranding of the Bath Festival Orchestra – which was itself relaunched by the violinist and conductor Peter Manning in 2021. Manning is now Chromatica’s founding artistic director, working alongside the violinist Maren Bosma. The choice of a venue slightly off the regular concert-hall circuit was one of several aspects – the highlighting of education work, the introductions given by members of the orchestra, the marketing – that signalled an intention of doing things a little differently. Whether that will translate into a distinct identity for this orchestra of early-career musicians, which will necessarily have a changing membership, will be interesting to see.
If this concert was aimed at new audiences, it didn’t play it safe. The only surefire crowd-pleaser was Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, which hit right in the solar plexus.
Ten minutes of the programme showcased the orchestra’s ongoing work with two dozen secondary school musicians from the Bobby Moore Academy in Stratford, London – a partnership begun years before the orchestra’s name change – who teamed up impressively with the professionals for short pieces by Elgar and Saint-Saëns.
Barber’s 1940 Violin Concerto brought sweep and passion from the orchestra under Charlotte Politi’s solid conducting, and a muscular performance from the soloist Kristīne Balanas, every note secure and full-toned. The fast finale was a white-knuckle ride; but the spark of virtuosity came across more immediately when Balanas and Bosma joined together for two movements from Prokofiev’s Sonata for Two Violins in C Major, their lines intertwining one moment, duelling punchily the next.
Falla’s ballet El Amor Brujo sounded punchy too, with exciting surges and swells in the orchestra. More care for tone colour would have increased the atmosphere in quieter passages. The mezzo-soprano Hanna Hipp, a late stand-in as vocalist, had the lowest notes in flamenco style but tended to be obscured higher up. One of Joan Tower’s Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman was the encore, rounding off this relaunch with a flourish.
