Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony – Huddersfield Town Hall

Conductor: Karel Deseure

Recently the Orchestra of Opera North has developed the habit of giving their concerts for the Kirklees Concert Season the name of the main work. On the strength of the orchestra’s glorious response to Karel Deseure’s sensitive and joyful reading of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 you have to agree with the policy.

Not that the first half made no impact. The first of two sizeable works, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite, was fun, to use a term seldom trotted out at classical concerts. Diaghilev of the Ballets Russes presented Stravinsky with a selection of pieces thought to be by the 18th century composer Pergolesi and asked him to construct a ballet around them. The result was a perfect fusion of 18th classicism and 20th century modernity with its tongue sometimes not far from its cheek, the graceful charm of the 18th century melodies enhanced by Stravinsky’s iconoclastic and frequently playful approach.

Stravinsky alternates between his full orchestra (based on the classical orchestra, but with a single trumpet and trombone) and passages for soloists or groups of soloists. Leader Katie Stillman shone on more than one occasion, but it was the wind soloists who made the strongest impression. As the Beethoven proved later, Opera North is especially well blessed with woodwind players.  However, the largest smiles were reserved for the comical Vivo, over-the-top glissandi from trombone and lumbering double bass phrases stamping their farcical credentials.

Of course Principal Flute Luke O’Toole seized his opportunity to impress in Mozart’s Concerto for Flute and Harp together with Opera North’s excellent Principal Harp, Celine Saout. O’Toole negotiated his part with assurance, including the impressive cadenzas for both instruments in each movement, without particularly establishing his personality, his exchanges with Saout crisp and spirited. She, for her part, brought a sparkling elegance to the harp part.

After the interval Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony expressed his love for the countryside in a series of episodes, culminating in a brief, but tempestuous, storm followed by the blissful serenity of the Shepherd’s Song, expressing joy after the storm. Deseure controlled the changes of mood perfectly, with the aid of notable contributions from all the woodwind principals (including imitations of birds and a shepherd’s pipe) and, finally, after doing nothing for three movements, the brass in explosive form at the height of the storm. Initially, though, it was the sound of the strings, their precision and control of dynamics, that impressed most.

It felt like a welcome to Spring – is it too much to hope?

Reviewed on 26 February 2026