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Review: Discovery Charity Concert featuring Laura McGhee and Nicola Benedetti

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The organisers of any musical event, be it in a church hall or a concert hall, can be excused self-indulgence by picking their favourite music and artists, writes Garry Fraser.

Those behind the two-yearly Discovery Charity Concert are no different and have a maxim of getting the best to play the best. Their “resident” orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, are certainly one of the best and, from where Alfie Boe (tenor) and Christina Lawrie (piano) left off in 2009, two stunning violinists carried on in sensational style a golden combination that you are unlikely to see on the same bill ever again.

Laura McGhee and Nicola Benedetti would brighten the dullest programme individually, but as a double act make an impression that is everlasting. They were the perfect choice for this year’s concert, held at the Caird Hall on Saturday night, and the choice of music also hit the right notes a selection of individual ‘pops’ that seldom appear on concert programmes.

The idea was to attract and entertain, and the music and performers did exactly that, with over 1500 enjoying a marvellous evening.

The soloists have made huge strides over the past few years, and although their chosen genres are miles apart they share the gifts of virtuoso talent and power of presentation.

McGhee, a Monifieth lass now making an impact in the States, brought her own composition, the Arbroath Suite. It received its world premiere in this form an inspired orchestration by Oliver Searle.

It was a marvellous mix of emotions from the haunting Banks o’ Cree to the foot-tapping Jacobite Jigs and the March to Bannockburn, with the eight-movement selection including the evocative Commemoration, once played by McGhee at the site of 9/11.

It was a stunning performance, and a very impressive way to mark her Caird Hall debut.

Benedetti is no stranger to that stage, and her performance was just as stunning as McGhee’s, with equally mixed musical sentiments.

Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy (only the last movement, as she is saving the whole work for a performance with the RSNO in September) mixes the solemn with the sprightly and is an excellent vehicle for a violinist to show off resonant tone and flamboyant showmanship meat and drink to someone like Benedetti.PanacheSarasate’s Zigeunerweisen was chosen to highlight her trademark panache, and she gave a performance for which the word “exciting” doesn’t come close.

The icing on the cake was the two girls joining forces in a repeat of Commemoration, their performances beautifully entwined.

Another bonus was conductor Christian Kluxen. He has been RSNO assistant conductor for only 12 months but could have been directing the orchestra for years.

His interpretation of the works showered youthful exuberance, but there were also signs of maturity, style and expert manipulation of the players.

The opening Berlioz Roman Carnival Overture was full of bravado which carried on into the Rimsky Korsakov Cappricio Espagnol, underlining its reputation as one of classical music’s most exciting works.

The Rossini overture to The Thieving Magpie, a pot-boiler if ever there was one, had a marvellous build-up to its careering final moments and the age-old favourite Finlandia never disappointed.

Perhaps the orchestra enjoyed this little mix of standard favourites as their performance was as enthusiastic and exuberant as I have ever seen them.

The nominated charity for this year’s concert was Macmillan Cancer Relief and their coffers will be considerably swollen after Saturday.

There can’t be many more enjoyable ways of raising funds for such a worthwhile cause.

Photo Al Buntin.