RLPO/Manze review – all-British Prom features fiery theatrics and cheeky subversion

Royal Albert Hall, London Smartly programmed Prom included a nimble rendition of Britten’s Violin Concerto, the visionary masterpiece that is Vaughan Williams’s Ninth, and the world premiere of Carmel Smickersgill’s A Brick Thrown With Love Over a century of British music was on display at this smartly programmed Prom in which the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic proved you don’t have to hail from Berlin to hold a London audience spellbound. Principal guest conductor Andrew Manze bookended the concert with career-spanning works by Vaughan Williams, there was a world premiere from Carmel Smickersgill, and Simone Lamsma was a commanding presence in Britten’s Violin Concerto. Smickersgill’s A Brick Thrown With Love imagines an act of protest from three perspectives: the idea itself, the affected community and the person responsible for lobbing said brick. The opening movement featured a cheeky clarinet theme, mocked, distorted and ultimately hijacked by a subversive orchestra. A shiver of bells built to an elated climax in part two before shifty, syncopated brass propelled the third section to a brutal catharsis. The musical impasto was applied a little thickly in places but the imagination was impressive. Continue reading...