Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra: Belshazzar’s Feast Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Georgina Bentley

Poole Lighthouse is the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s home and it is always great to hear these brilliant musicians perform in this fantastic venue that lends itself to orchestral music. Wherever you sit in the concert hall you feel as if the orchestra is playing just for you, the ambience in the hall is amazing.

The 70 musician strong orchestra was being conducted this evening by David Hill, who certainly took them through their paces with this elaborate program of music. They were joined tonight by the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus (Belshazzar’s Feast), pianist Steven Osborne (Rhapsody in Blue) and baritone singer Andrew Hamilton (Belshazzar’s Feast).

Radio 3 were recording this evening’s concert to broadcast on Tuesday 20th May at 7.30pm as part of the Radio 3 in Concert Series.

This evening was also the final concert in the BSO’s current season. The next season’s concerts have been published and are now available for booking.

The evening started with Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from the musical West Side Story. There are nine so called movements (or dances) in this suite which are arranged to follow each other in a continuous flow. There was a dramatic start with all musicians on the edge of their seats counting frantically for their entries, of which, as you would expect, were all perfectly timed. The beautiful melody from ‘somewhere’ came ringing through in the second dance, which was my most favourite part of the evening, it was an elegant emotional moment. The following seven dances were contrasting, exciting and beautiful in their own ways. The percussion section, consisting of 6 musicians were kept on their toes and busy throughout, and there was a lone flautist who gave an outstanding performance introducing the final theme. Wow, this is music I’d like to hear more of.

Next, after a quick reset of the stage, we were treated to George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Playing the piano was the brilliant Steven Osborne. The Rhapsody begins with the recognisable clarinet solo, then joined by the brass section followed shortly by the strings before the first piano interlude takes place. Throughout the whole performance I was mesmerised by the pianist’s fingers moving so fast and accurately across the keyboard. What a captivating sound the piano and orchestra made and such brilliant writing from Gershwin. After a very long applause, Steven Osborne came back onto the stage to play an equally brilliant encore before the interval.

The awaited Belshazzar’s Feast by William Walton was most definitely a feast of music by a large host of brilliant musicians. The Bournemouth Symphony Chorus comprised of around 120 voices and the BSO were joined by more musicians to make up an even larger than large sound and completely filling the stage. This complex cantata of very difficult choral writing was worth the wait and was performed to precision with the baritone voice of Andrew Hamilton. We were definitely leaving this evening with Belshazzar’s Feast literally ringing in our ears.

Rating: 5/5

Tickets cost from £18.70 (booking fees may apply)

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra performed Belshazzar’s Feast at the Lighthouse Poole on Wednesday 14th May 2025, for more information visit www.lighthousepoole.co.uk or call the box office on 01202 280000

Poole Lighthouse, 21 Kingland Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1UG