Bilton Earns Silver at Cheltenham!
Bilton Silver celebrates being awarded second place at the 2012 National Brass Band Championship Finals with an astonishing interpretation of Denis Wright’s arrangement of Johannes Brahms’ “Academic Festival Overture”. Before announcing the top 6 out of the 17 competing, the judges commented that only a handful of bands had played the piece as Brahms had intended; where sometimes the gaps were more important than the notes.
One of the aspects of the piece that professional conductor Mr David Stowell has focused his energy on was playing the rhythms as the composer has intended. This obviously shone through to the adjudicators who deliberated, for what seemed an eternity, before arriving on the stage.
Listen to the recording for yourself:
[soundcloud id=’64593927′]
This is what the judges had to say:
Good opening with good detail. Some tuning issues before B. Good sound at ben marcato. Bass tuning before C. Con moto-I like this controlled playing. F to G some nice playing here. Nice Solo Horn. Piu tranquillo goes well. Good build to R. Just keep under control. L to M some tuning problems. M nice full sounding band. N to O some lovely touches. Con moto one or two uneasy moments with tuning. Maestoso is controlled with a suitable big sound.
A fine performance with just one or two tuning issues. Well done MD for a controlled performance.
Adjudicator: John Maines
A good opening with good details during A. Nice control of dynamics as the music unfolds. I do have 1 or 2 issues with intonation in the quieter passages but the music has real appeal. Good touches from soloists through G especially horn.
Animato a little loud for me and reprise sounds rushed but Tempo I works. M has real colour and vibrance. Again N is stylish although sop intonation just worries a little. Please play the last note of phrases to a full length. Poco is not quite together but closing section has a breadth and stability that is most appealing.
Many good moments today. Thank you.
Adjudicator: M White