There are venues that boost a performance – spaces that subtly polish or burnish or clarify – and those that hinder. The latest concert in the Philharmonia’s residency at Canterbury’s Marlowe theatre suggests this handsome building is unfortunately among the latter. The acoustic isn’t so much dry as desiccated, exposing the slightest flaws and offering all the atmosphere of an anechoic chamber.
The orchestra’s dynamo principal guest conductor, Marin Alsop, presumably knew what she would be up against, having made her local debut last year. The concert began with a deliciously natty performance of Arturo Márquez’s Danzón No 2. The opening episode – dusky clarinet, piano, claves, string pizzicato – was loose-limbed. A trumpet solo was served with outrageously slow vibrato, the strings strutted to order.
