GRAMOPHONE, APRIL 1971

When I heard the first record by this schools orchestra (Pye Golden Guinea CSGC14103, 3/68) I gave it an indulgent notice; but hearing it later, I did wonder if I hadn't done readers something of a disservice in leading them to believe that it was better than it in fact was, for it undoubtedly sounded like a schools orchestra- rather feeble violins and suchlike. I have no such qualms about this latest record, for I have tried parts on two listeners, neither of whom guessed that it was other than some adult orchestra, even if not one of the leading ones regularly recording. Admittedly a third was quickly suspicious, for he spotted a weak cello note - but he was a professional string player!

This Leicestershire Schools Orchestra has the enthusiasm of Director of Education behind it, and also a far-seeing Music Adviser in Eric Pinkett who is himself a most capable conductor. Other such orchestras may be jealous at their latest feat in getting onto an Argo record (though it should be cheaper), but they have been clever. They 'captured' Sir Michael Tippett as their 'patron saint' early on; now they have added Sir Arthur Bliss and no less a famous conductor than Previn; and they have recorded works not otherwise available.

The playing really is remarkable. Just occasionally the strings show their extreme youth in a difficult passage in octaves or a high entry for violins which should be strong but isn't, but otherwise I could find little to fault and so much to admire. Most of the music is "Contemporary Orchestral Works" only in that it belongs to this century, for apart from Herbert Chappell's overture they were all composed a good while ago. But that is no quibble, for the playing is the thing and that Bliss's work, in particular, is a fine piece that ought not to have been neglected; also that the playing is not only so technically expert but is so extraordinarily musical.

Bliss's Introduction and Allegro is a virtuoso piece composed for Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1926, but it is far more than that, as its opening, most expressively played, at once shows, and even in the Allegro, there are passages like that at fig. 24 (miniature score available from Boosey & Hawkes) where the sensitive playing touches the heart. As to the sheerly virtuoso bits, they get brilliant treatment from every section of the orchestra (with those very occasional, and slight, weaknesses I have mentioned). Ireland's Elegy makes no technical demands on the strings, which enables them to show how sensitively musical these young players are - a most affecting performance.

Previn's overture, and Chappell's, are virtuoso pieces and not much more, though most skilfully done - but their titles imply nothing more and both are, of their kind, exhilarating. Bryan Kelly's Cuban Suite is uncommonly gifted for a student work, even if it is, as he writes, an unashamed attempt to write popular light music with immediate appeal - I bet those children enjoyed playing the 'naughty' tango, especially as relaxation from the demands of Bliss. Tippett's two excerpts from his The Shires Suite (originally written for this orchestra) take us again into the world of serious and beautiful music, with an excellent choir joining in "Non nobis domine" in the Epilogue and this makes a moving end to the record. TREVOR HARVEY

HI-FI NEWS, APRIL 1971

By Frederick Woods

Towards the end of 1969 I received a letter from a schools orchestra asking if I would like to hear a tape of a new piece of educational music that had recently been televised on Sounds Exciting. On the principle that it's best to listen to everything, but not expecting very much, I said I would. When it arrived, it turned out to be a very original, very funny comedy-thriller with words by Robin Ray and music by Herbert Chappell, and apart from being weak with laughter I was very impressed from the musical point of view. The record came out in May 1970 under the title Dead in Tune and received highly enthusiastic notices (Argo ZDA 134). The orchestra was the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1947 by Eric Pinkett, a man of quite incredible determination and drive who lets nothing stand in his way - not even producers! It must be now the finest youth orchestra in the country.

Scarcely had the last notes of that first recording died away when Eric began to discuss the next one. His idea was to produce something that would supply music for school occasions such as speech days, assemblies, prayers and so on. This at once seemed an excellent idea and further talks followed these lines. For a while, that is. Suddenly things took a rather different course when Sir Arthur Bliss and Sir Michael Tippett agreed to conduct. At once the record became more important. And it became more important still during - of all things - one of the Simon Dee shows. The guest was Andre Previn who when asked what he would like to do while over here, replied that he'd most like to work with the LSSO. Eric Pinkett moved into action next morning and in a surprisingly short time I was discussing fees with Previn's agent. The next problem was Previn's exclusive contract with RCA. Not feeling very hopeful, I approached Miss Rosemary Schnutz who was very sympathetic and cabled her New York office. Time went by and I had begun to resign myself to a refusal when permission arrived - received, I may say, with enormous gratitude.

It is, I discovered, a fairly complex task to bring together a studio, an orchestra composed of children with such annoyances as lessons and homework to consider, and three major conductors. In the end we solved the problem by recording over the August Bank Holiday weekend and by feeding them on the spot. The supplies list reads like that of a small if quirky army - 600 sausage rolls, 600 pork pies, 600 pasties, 200 bags of assorted crisps, about sixty pounds of fruit and heaven knows what else. Needless to say, not a crumb was left!

The orchestra arrived at the studio at 9.15 on the Friday evening and was promptly put through a full rehearsal by Eric Pinkett. This was invaluable for me as, though I had attended several rehearsals and concerts in various parts of the country, I still had not heard certain works, notably the Previn, and that score was a three-part Sellotaped photostat of uncertain clarity standing somewhat over two feet high! The session with Sir Arthur finished early thanks to magnificent playing and Sir Arthur’s usual superb efficiency. As Sir Arthur left the rostrum, Eric Pinkett began another rehearsal... Sunday afternoon was another rehearsal! When a somewhat dishevelled Andre Previn arrived on Monday morning direct from Scotland ('A holiday to me isn't a holiday if I have to shave-sorry I look so terrible') the orchestra was yet again rehearsing, this time Russlan and Ludmilla. Previn listened from the back of the studio for a few minutes and then turned to me and said, 'If we get time, could we record this as well? They're fantastic!' Once he started with the orchestra, there was total rapport within five minutes. In the afternoon, Sir Michael arrived for the excerpts from the Shires Suite. The orchestra is very accustomed to working with Sir Michael and in spite of the difficulty of the work (and I can add that, from the producer's point of view, the score is no hayride) again we finished early. Half an hour afterwards, the orchestra's coaches were loaded and the members were on their way back to Leicester to return to school the next morning! I understand that one of Eric Pinkett's ambitions for the orchestra is a Prom. Having worked with them now over quite a long period I would say they deserve it.

ISLE OF MAN TIMES, APRIL 1971

The Good Friday Concert was a breathtaking revelation to me of a concerted dedication to beautiful music by this very young orchestra. It consisted of the overture Benvenuto Cellini by Berlioz, making us forget that we were not listening to a professional orchestra, followed by a breathtaking, unbelievably polished performance of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue". The young pianist Stephen Whittaker, who played this difficult exacting work did credit to Gershwin's most widely known composition in a way expected of a more mature exponent. The whole piece was so full of energy and vitality that what may be yet to be achieved by them later in advanced technique makes me able to compare their interpretation very favourably with more mature and professional orchestras. The second half was devoted to the Brahms "Requiem", a long difficult work requiring tremendous physical and musical energy. The orchestra and soloists and the Festival Chorus are all to be commended on attempting a work of such magnitude. I found that Monday's concert was even more impressive. From beginning to end this fine orchestra captured and held the interest of the audience. They played the Vivaldi Gloria with great tenderness and in this again, being a very testing work, the chorus gave a very touching and sympathetic performance. The Paganini Violin Concerto was again a superb example of what this young orchestra can do. The young violinist Russell Gilbert, himself an ex-member of the L.S.S.O. and now a student at the Royal Academy of Music, calls forth great praise for such a high standard of playing in a work of great technical difficulty which only the accomplished musician dare attempt. He surmounted most of the many difficulties with great skill and I am strongly convinced we heard a future soloist in the making.

The Manx Rhapsody was also very moving and beautifully played, arranged by Haydn Wood. The Shires Suite by Tippett (who was unfortunately unable to visit the Island due to indisposition) was quite a startling venture; certainly not "run of the mill", but as Tippett depicted the sound and life of the "Shires", I heard mill wheels, some for water, some for more grim purposes. The Hallelujah Chorus was played and sung in memory of the work done for music by the late Harry Pickard. A very fitting finale to the evening was Tchaikovsky's "Capriccio Italien" and although I may be slightly biased (being fond of the Russian composers) what a "Grand Finale". EILEEN McKOWN

LEICESTER MERCURY, APRIL 1971

A new stereo record by the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra presents them in fine form with lively and vital sound from Argo and the conducting shared by Sir Arthur Bliss, Sir Michael Tippett, Andre Previn and the County's Music Adviser Eric Pinkett. Although this is the third disc to be made by Leicestershire's young musicians, it is actually the second involving the full 100 strong orchestra. The witty and entertaining "Dead in Tune" and "George and the Dragonfly" was made with an ensemble of 45.

The six items on the new disc present quite a range of styles from the closely-wrought brilliance of Bliss’s Introduction and Allegro to Bryan Kelly's light and easy-on-the-ear "Cuban Suite". Listeners will have their favourites but everyone is going to fall in love with the Elegy for strings from John Ireland's Downland Suite. Andre Previn chose it as one of his pieces with the LSSO and he conducts it beautifully. The playing is superb and the recording transmits excitingly the sensitive reaction of these young musicians to the tip of Previn's baton. Here, in fact, is a musical quiz you could try: play this track over and invite friends to identify the orchestra under Previn's command. The answers will be flattering, but I doubt if they'll be correct! Previn also conducts his own breezy Overture to a Comedy and the LSSO-commissioned "Panache" overture by Herbert Chappell. Sir Arthur Bliss gets excellent response in his virtuoso Introduction and Allegro, Sir Michael Tippett commendable clarity and atmosphere in the two concluding items from The Shires Suite (another LSSO commission) and Eric Pinkett directs an easy-flowing Cuban Suite. All in all, a disc to marvel at.

R. A. P.

LEICESTER MERCURY, FEBRUARY 1971

SIR ARTHUR BLISS, Master of the Queen's Musick, has composed the opening song for a pageant to be staged by the County School of Music at Leicester's De Montfort Hall at the end of next month. The theme of the pageant is the last quarter of a century in Leicestershire. It also marks the retirement of Director of Education Mr. Stewart Mason, whose work during those 25 Years has included an active concern with the county's pioneering achievements in the field of musical education. Sir Arthur Bliss is the latest of many distinguished musicians who over the years have become associated with the County School of Music. The attraction once again was the fine playing of the senior of the schools’ three symphony orchestras. Having heard the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra he agreed to conduct them. He has become one of their most vocal admirers and described their concert at the 1970 Cheltenham Festival as the festival's best. Praise for the orchestra has also come from conductor Andre Previn, whose name, with that of Sir Arthur, Sir Michael Tippett (patron of the County School of Music) and Eric Pinkett (county music organiser) will appear on the label of the LSSO's third record, which is to be issued shortly. Mr. Previn has also promised to compose a piece of music for the orchestra. Their future bookings look impressive. They are to take part in music festivals in the Isle of Man, at Harrogate and at Brighton. There is, too, the likelihood of a fourth record with an internationally famous artist as soloist. One of their most important engagements will be concerned with two performances for the BBC of the opera "Der Jasager" by Kurt Weill and Berthold Brecht. The choice of the Leicestershire Schools Symphony to play the orchestral score was influenced by Alexander Goehr - another composer-conductor to be impressed by their high musical standard. The production of the opera will be significant because "Der Jasager" is something of a rarity. It was apparently last performed in this country in 1930 and its revival reflects a current wave of interest in Weill's music. The LSSO will contribute both to a BBC recording in April and an invitation concert performance at the De Montfort Hall a few days later.

Another De Montfort Hall concert in September will be the orchestra's special tribute to Mr. Mason and will follow their prospective trip to Geneva. Plenty of activity, too, for other branches of the County School of Music. In addition to the three-day pageant at the end of March, The Intermediate Orchestra's schedule will include a concert at the Long Eaton Festival and a tour to Ludinghausen in the autumn. They will have their usual live-together-play-together course at a seaside resort in July and there will again be a shorter one closer to home for the Junior Orchestra. Plans include, also, many training sessions and concerts for the school's splinter groups, which include a military band, string quartets and wind ensembles.

LEICESTER MERCURY, JULY 1971

This entertaining summer's evening concert at the De Montfort Hall, Leicester last night was part of the 139th BMA conference but also a public occasion at which enthusiasm ran high. The orchestra deserved their acclaim. They are, indeed, something of a phenomenon; not merely on account of their high standard of performance but because (and in spite of quite sizeable personnel change each autumn when school leavers drop out) they have, over the years acquired a playing style and a personality which is attractive and distinctly and exclusively LSSO.

Thus they are able to contribute to their music something over and above the mere notes. This was evident in the Verdi overture and in the exciting final tarantella of the Tchaikovsky where, to admirable control, clarity and speed of execution was added an exuberance and verve which was as infectious as it was irrepressible. For Eric Pinkett there must have been something of the thrill of handling a high-performance sports car. He knows their potential intimately and has emerged himself as a conductor with some fine qualities. I liked the broad sweep and the dramatic power of the overture, his effective use of silence and his maintenance of positive rich tone at slow speeds. The opening Siesta movement of the Cuban Suite went particularly well and Prokofiev's potent instrumental timbres were excellently realised to add life and colour to Kije’s lively musical portrait. Good work, too, from the solo trumpet. The Gershwin received a large and generous treatment with Eric Pinkett and Stephen Whittaker in full accord. Whittaker (he is the orchestra's timpanist) produced large full piano tone and his assurance and sense of atmosphere set the scene impressively for the famous big tune. Russell Gilbert, the concerto soloist, a former leader of the orchestra, is clearly an extremely talented fourth-year student. The principal virtue of his reading of the Paganini was its seriousness of intent. He showed (especially in the first movement) that the work has decided musical attributes and is not merely just a means of living it up technically. His range of tone was considerable and he employed it intelligently and purposefully. R. A. P.

RECORDS AND RECORDING, APRIL 1971

This is a lively collection of good light music. By far the best work is the first one in the programme. Sir Arthur Bliss directs a cogent account of his spacious

and deeply felt Introduction and Allegro: splendid stuff, full of life and character. Then we have Previn conducting three pieces. Firstly, his own pithy Overture to a Comedy - full of bounce and quite brilliantly scored. This is a most zestful affair. In complete contrast, Previn turns to Ireland's lovely Elegy from his poetic Downland Suite - English music to the core - full of quiet cloudscape and dreamy movement. Chappell's racy overture, well-named Panache, comes in for another fiery Previn interpretation. This is more commonplace stuff than Previn's own overture but it makes agreeable listening for the uncritical. Kelly's Cuban Suite, directed with flair by Eric Pinkett, is, again, less worthy than the Bliss or Previn pieces but it is colourful, even if the melodies are somewhat second-rate. Far better, of course, are the two lovely pieces from Tippett's engaging The Shires Suite - poetic, beautifully accomplished and thoroughly worthwhile. The whole programme is despatched with brilliant aplomb by the astonishingly able Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra, who respond especially well to Previn's direction. The recording is finely detailed and has a nice spacious acoustic. GEOFFREY CRANKSHAW

YORKSHIRE POST, AUGUST 1971

Sir Michael Tippett, 66, is one of the world's most distinguished composers. But be can be regarded as among the world’s most retiring celebrities. He lives amid the agreeable countryside of Wiltshire. He works in his delightfully secluded home at Chippenham where his privacy is secured by an ex-directory telephone number. Last night he emerged from his seclusion to make a 16 minute appearance at the opening Concert of the Harrogate Festival to conduct the now famed Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra in a performance of his "Prince Charles Suite" which was commissioned by the BBC in honour of the Prince of Wales. Sir Michael explained: "I find this a stunning orchestra. I got to know it some six years ago and found it an astonishing band – utterly professional and one of the most stimulating orchestras with which I have been associated." Sir Michael, who is patron of the orchestra and has placed his personal imprint on it, said: "When I conducted the orchestra in Germany two years ago, the Berliners were so amazed they could hardly believe their ears. They accorded these youngsters of between 14 and 18 an acclaim they usually reserve for the very best performances by renowned established orchestras."

He explained that he only conducts these keen Leicestershire young players in contemporary works. That was why the major part of last nights programme, consisting of works drawn from the classical repertoire, was in charge of Norman Del Mar. "So I have arrived in Harrogate for a very brief appearance."

It was a return to the West Riding for Norman Del Mar who was one of the last conductors of the ill-fated Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra. And for last night's soloist, the well-known pianist Moura Lympany, it was an occasion that engendered memories of the very early days of her career. It was in Harrogate’s Royal Hall that, at the age of 12, she made her debut, playing Mendelssohn's Concerto in g minor. Last night she was proud to be associated with the talented musicians of the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra.