Rousing salute to U.S.

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34120, 5 April 1976, Page 16

Rousing salute to U.S.

The Canterbury Trust’s Orchestra, directed by Dobbs Franks and led by Ruth Pearl, gave a “Salute to America” concert in the Town Hall yesterday afternoon as part of the American bicentenary celebrations. The concert was attended by Mr Armistead J. Selden, jun., the U.S. Ambassador. There was a good attendance. "Rodeo,” by Aaron Copland, an American composer whose works always colourfully attract attention, began the programme. As the title suggests, the composition had the atmosphere of a hot day with dust, rustic roughness, hard riding, a lack of suave politeness, garish colours and a close-to-nature hardihood, and much fun and tough action. All this was vividly brought to life in the first movement of the suite, entitled “Buckaroo Holiday.” The cares and

stresses of the day were laid aside in the two quietly contrasted movements which followed, “Corral Nocturne” and “Saturday Night Waltz,” more delicately scored but keeping the authentic spirit of the work very much alive. The last movement, "Hoe Down,” brought everything out into the daylight and restored all the action leading to bright climax. Mr Franks’s direction created authentic mood, with all details kept in strict accord with the composer’s intent. There was skilled purpose behind Mr Franks’s interpretations and in the players’ carrying them to fruition. Because scores of Menotti’s “Sebastian” could not be obtained in time for the concert, a performance of Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony was substituted? A larger body of players was needed to give a completely ■ satisfactory performance I with adequate richness of ■sonorities, but the performance was received in kindly spirit. i The concert ended with a

performance of George Gershwin’s stirring and happy Concerto in F for Piano and Orchestra. Mr Franks was the soloist as well as conductor, and played with splendid and exciting elan. His runs and figurations — in which the work abounds — were played with splendid clarity and with excitingly vivacious tone. Not a detail was lost nor was there ever a suspicion of a cloud. The playing of the orchestra had “spot-on” precision and stylistic tonal timbres and vitality in attack. The second movement had most attractive atmosphere and charmed widely. It covered wide range of emotional expression and treated each with faithful attention to every required nuance. The last movement had strong striking power and carried all before it in a most exciting and adventurous way. This was a performance to be remembered, showing the orchestra’s and the pianist’s virtuosity in unmistakeable fashion. —C. Foster Browne.