The New Hampshire Philharmonic
The New Hampshire Philharmonic - 83 Hanover Street - Manchester NH 03101 tel. (603) 647-6476 info@nhphil.org
Reviews
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Nov 28, 2006 HippoPress
Under the direction of Anthony Princiotti, the Philharmonic delivered just the right mix of good music and fun holiday arrangements. Music groups hoping to be different at the holidays sometimes get too esoteric, but the Philharmonic walks the programming tightrope with confidence.
Nov 2, 2006 HippoPress - NH Philharmonic delivers at opening concert
The New Hampshire Philharmonic delivered a well-rounded evening of music on Saturday, Oct. 28, at the Palace Theatre.The concert opened with Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite 2 ... the orchestra on the whole played as one and conveyed the festivity of this piece well.
Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante in E flat, K. 364 ...Tamara Smirnova, violin, and Michael Zaretsky, viola, played impressively during this piece ... both soloists played with great expressiveness and strength...The orchestra sounded quite robust and conveyed a sense of gaiety. The piece received a standing ovation at its finale and at times the audience showed its appreciation between movements as well. Soloists Smirnova and Zaretsky played virtuosically and were well received.
The second half of Saturday evening's concert featured Zoltan Kodaly's Suite from Hary Janos and was arguably the orchestra at its best... The orchestra played this piece extremely well and with such a range of dynamics and rhythmic accuracy one could argue that the piece marked the orchestra at its best that night...A fascinating combination of music, the fall performance Mozart Times Two by the NH Philharmonic Orchestra was truly rewarding.
March 16, 2006 HippoPress
Review: An element of child-like wonder comes with all music, which perhaps explains why the New Hampshire Philharmonic's annual children's concert was such a delight no matter what the date on your driver's license happens to be.
The performance, given last Sunday, March 12 at Concord's Capitol Center for the Arts, was a fun blend of good symphonic music and old-fashioned story-telling, courtesy guest narrator Laura Knoy of New Hampshire Public Radio.
The music was followed by a post-concert hands-on "petting zoo," which let kids see the instruments up close and personal. For youg people who wondered what "I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Weiner" played on a French horn sounded like, this was their chance.
The concert's featured work, Francis Poulenc's The Story of Babar, depicted the manifold adventures of a young elephant in musical terms. Poulenc's tart score was played to a very high standard; a bonus was hearing narrator Knoy employ her surprisingly colorful "old lady" voice.
Led by Anthony Princiotti, the Philharmonic musicians clearly had a ball bringing to life the varied cues, which include a musical depiction of a pachyderm attending a tea party. At one point, the score calls for an old-fashioned car horn a la Gershwin's An American in Paris.
Babar is a classic children's story in the "Bambi" mode, in the sense that it doesn't pull punches in the tragedy department. Not only is the baby elephant's mother killed by a hunter early on, but later the King of the Elephants dies from eating a poisoned mushroom.
As such, the story might be a bit much for very young or especially sensitive kids. But overall it's family-friendly light entertainment and, yes, the tale comes with a happy ending.
The concert was remarkable for the professional-caliber musicianship throughout. The orchestra sounded tight, well-drilled, and confident at all times. Even with an audience of mostly young kids, Princiotti and the Philharmonic musicians gave their all to each piece. The many solos in the Babar score, featuring melodies that range from ponderous to comic, were all played with aplomb.
An impeccably balanced "March of the Toreadors" from Bizet's Carmen made for an attention-getting opener, while an arrangement of "March of the Toys" from Victor Herbert's tuneful operetta Babes in Toyland made for an effective contrast with its moody quieter passages.
The program will be repeated on Sunday, March 19 at Keene's Colonial Theatre. If your kids have the least bit of interest in music, it's worth it to haul the family out there. The performance lasts less than an hour — a reasonable length for a children's concert — and there's nary a dull stretch.
Dec 29, 2005 HippoPress
The Nov 2005 concert of the Philharmonic was named one of the top ten classical performances in Manchester for 2005.
Nov 9, 2005 HippoPress
The cross-pollination resulting from Gershwin's in-his-prime trips to Paris and Ravel's interest in jazz is a topic ripe for exploration. And last Saturday's Palace Theatre concert of the New Hampshire Philharmonic did just that - by juxtapoxing Ravel's jazzy Piano Concerto in G with a suite from Gershwin's "serious" opera Porgy and Bess, a crackling sort of energy was released that helped each work come to life.
Conductor Anthony Princiotti, starting his fifth season leading the group, brought a nice sense of bounce to each work. The performances sounded well-rehearsed and polished, and the many instrumental soloists came across as confident and assured. Pianist Reiko Harigaya, soloist in the Ravel, brought precision and attention to detail to the concerto. She's not an overpowering take-no-prisoners kind of player, and that approach was a perfect match to the Philharmonic's playing.
The program was interesting on it own, but layered on top of the music was an extensive tie-in with artists of the 1920s courtesy of the Currier Museum. A slide show of various works of the period ... served to whet the appetite for exploring the topic further in a non-concert setting. Of note was the huge turnout of students, who virtually mobbed a pre-concert lecture and then filled the Palace balcony for the music.
May 2005 HippoPress
This was a performance with passion, fire and excitement - you could tell everyone knew the notes, so Princiotti was able to take musicians and listeners on the rare journey of reinventing an old chestnut into something new and exciting and compelling.
Balance was superb throughout. Dvorak wrote so well for the instruments that there's a tendency for some players to overdo it in the solos and forte passages, especially in the brass. Princiotti kept it all in check, giving everyone the freedom to play their best but always keeping it in context of the orchestra's overall sound.
A highlight was the second movement, which was played so well you stopped thinking you were sitting at the Palace and instead were transported elsewhere - someplace where you're grateful for all the good things that have happened to you. That's the power of this music in live performance, and Princiotti tapped into it big time.
Oct 28, 2004 HippoPress
The Philharmonic musicians, led by Anthony Princiotti, made for fine collaborators. A highlight was the concert's slow movement, in which an ebb and flow was achieved between soloist and orchestra that lent unexpected spontaneity to this familiar piece. [Grieg Piano Concerto]
Another highlight was Ravel's Pavane for a Dead Princess, a brief and quiet work that the Philharmonic convincingly brought to life. The star was the blend - Princiotti drew a measured and even sound from the players that made the orchestra seem like one single instrument.
Best concerts of 2004 - HippoPress
Number 2. Symphonie Espagnol by Eduard Lalo, New Hampshire Philharmonic, March 13 at the Palace Theatre, Manchester. Soloist: Elliot Markow. Conductor: Anthony Princiotti. “From the opening phrases to the concluding passagework, Markow was in the zone, roaring through big sections with passion and verve but also finding exquisitely phrased and realized moments again and again. Markow’s consistent brilliance was ably backed by the Philharmonic musicians, who were in top form in all sections.”
Number 10. Mass in G major by Schubert, New Hampshire Philharmonic and the UNH Concert Choir, May 1 at the Palace Theatre, Manchester. Conductor: Anthony Princiotti. “You could have practiced your Latin if you wanted to. That’s how clear and crisp the choral singing was … Prepared by director Bill Kempster, the chorus had a high batting average throughout the five-part work. The group displayed a bright and assured sound that helped Schubert’s music seem freshly urgent and compelling. While capturing the impromptu spirit that pulses through the piece, the singers at the same time managed to be fussy about pronouncing the text with clarity and precision.”
