United Kingdom Britten, Gershwin, Holst: Wayne Marshall (soloist, conductor), German National Orchestra, German-British Choir Academy. Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 19.1.2025. (GT)

Britten – Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Henry Purcell, Op.34
Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue
Holst – The Planets, Op. 32
This concert attracted one of the largest audiences at Usher Hall for some years, notably for the many children – a fine welcome for the official partner of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra – the German National Orchestra: Bundesjugendorchester (German Federal Youth Orchestra). The ensemble was formed in 1969 by the German Music Council and comprises young musicians between the ages of 14 and 19 years. The orchestra has been led by Sir Simon Rattle, Andris Nelsons, and Kirill Petrenko, among other conductors and has toured extensively to Asia, Africa, the Americas and throughout Europe. A feature of this concert was the singing of the German-British Choir Academy.
It was stimulating to see how each group of the orchestra entered separately with the bass section, followed by the cellos, violas, and each of the violin groups prior to the wind and percussion coming on to the stage. A major benefit for the orchestra was the guiding of the distinguished musician and composer Wayne Marshall with his huge grasp of musical knowledge; this orchestra has been working with him through this demanding eight-concert tour across Europe which started in Vienna’s Musikverein.
The opening work allowed each group in the ensemble to show their talents – and in the opening bars – the strings exhibited outstanding virtuosity in complete unison. The horns had a richly burnished sound, matched by the trumpets, trombones and two tubas. A highlight throughout was the outstanding virtuosity of Helene Caspar on the clarinet and Cosmas Anapliotis on the flute. The marvellous talents of the strings as the opening Purcell theme of the Britten piece – heard first as a polonaise on the violins, then by the violas, the cellos and the basses, and at last by the two harps with glissandos. The four horns were superb in the glorious fanfare – every so often – the smiles of the young musicians exhibited how much they enjoyed this music. The two timpanists were spectacular in their electrifying rhythmic splendour. There was exquisite musicality by the piccolo of Kathrin Redlich in the cheerful fugue evinced by the woodwind and the strings. The introductory performance of Britten’s Variations and Fugue hinted that we were set up for a fascinating concert by these brilliantly talented teenagers.
With the piano facing the orchestra it gave Marshall sight of his musicians, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue opened spectacularly with Caspar’s clarinet assisted by the delightful woodwind and brass, also too by Marshall’s three solo contributions in which he evinced Scottish folk songs into his glittering cadenzas and flowing musicality in his innovations. The three saxophones were astonishing in their richly burnished harmonies. At the close, it was clear how much this orchestra has a close bond with Marshall, everyone stamping their feet in praise of his magnificent playing.
Last year was the anniversary year of Gustav Holst, and I was particularly surprised by the lack of performances of his music, much of which is of remarkable quality, yet his orchestral pieces – except for The Planets Suite – are rarely heard in the concert hall.

The opening Mars, the Bringer of War was mesmerising with the exhilarating thuds from the two timpani perched above the orchestra and added to by the fortissimos of the strings, brass and woodwind – all playing as if their life depended on it – this was terrific music-making. The exciting yet bellicose mood quickly switched to the Bringer of Peace, Venus, with delightful pianissimos from the strings, often sounding opulent, and by the gently peaceful harmonies from the woodwind. The shift to the quirky Mercury brought yet more fantastic playing from the woodwind, especially an outstanding and gorgeous contribution from the oboe of Seyun Yuni Kim and her colleagues in the wind section quickly whizzing in colourful harmonies exhibiting Slavic affinities in the thematic ideas.
Often regarded as the heart of the suite, Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity was performed with magisterially under Marshall, once again illustriously intoned by the woodwind, especially the flute of Cosmas Anapliotis, and the opening of the hymn ‘I Vow to Thee my Country’ was especially poignant. The stately dance was lovingly played and yet again the leader Jonas Appelfeller was quite superb. Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age was unhurried, like a funeral march and sounding desperately mourning-like. The haunting theme was marked by great playing by the flutes and the harps created an easy-going melancholy and a desolate bleakness.
The invocation was disturbed in Uranus, the Magician by the abrupt call of the brass with the trombones, trumpets, and two tubas with their four-note clarion call. The rollicking scherzo developed with a quadruple fortissimo climax before the still and peaceful mood of the furthest planet in the Solar System – Neptune, the Mystic – and we grasped a cosmic stillness and almost complete abandon in a double pianissimo before descending into silence heralding the beautifully rapt wordless singing of the chorus placed at the rear of the hall. Slowly the music died away as if we were flying into the far-off distance of the Solar System.
This was an exceptional concert from these young talented Germans – and augers well for the next concert in the International Sunday Concert Season by the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic on April 6, who will make their debut in Scotland’s capital.
Gregor Tassie