Refined
In the span of a week, the student orchestra of the Gent conservatorium prepared this concert together with Belgian conductor Michel Tilkin. Daring and ambitious, because Le tombeau de Couperin by Maurice Ravel demands highly refined orchestral playing. Delicate, elegant, sometimes also incisive—strings, winds and percussion must shine.We find the same refinement in the Pulcinella suite by Igor Stravinsky, which complements Ravel's tombeau nicely. Not the revolutionary Stravinsky of the Sacre du printemps, but a work from his neo-classical period, when in his mature years he looked back with admiration and made references to the baroque. Ravel and Stravinsky were good friends, by the way. Stravinsky undoubtedly learned much from the master orchestrator Ravel. If there were occasional intonation issues among the woodwinds here and there, and the strings sounded somewhat heavy, this is acceptable for a student orchestra. You feel throughout the entire concert the experienced, skilled and tight hand of conductor Tilkin.
After the Ravel, young German pianist Gabriela Kühlcke takes the stage for Saint-Saëns' second piano concerto. This completely different music from Ravel is less demanding for the orchestra than the colorful Ravel. Gabriela Kühlcke, who graduated from the Gent conservatorium in June after five years in the piano class of Vitaly Samoshko, performs the concerto with brilliance and depth.
Platforms
The Miryzaal of the Gent conservatorium is a beautiful concert hall, especially for chamber music. With a symphony orchestra, the stage is filled to the walls on both sides. It sounds just as clear as with smaller ensembles. Only a pity that there are no platforms for the wind players to sit higher, so they are more visible from the hall. Now you only see the oboe or flute hidden behind the violins. The horns and other brass players behind them you can't see at all, although they play a leading role in some parts of the Pulcinella.
If there is a false note at this engaging concert, it is the sloppy and meager program booklet and communication. On a folded A4 sheet we read only the English-language biographies of conductor and pianist, nothing about the orchestra, nothing about the works. On the website, the concert was only announced with the orchestral works by Ravel and Stravinsky. The concerts in the Miryzaal deserve better.