Majestic night at the prom

HALLE ORCHESTRA (Bridgewater Hall, Manchester)
PROMENADE concerts involving the magical musicians of the Halle Orchestra are always special.

Throw in a glorious summer’s evening, an audience dressed in holiday attire — some men were actually in shorts and sandals, with socks, too — and the atmosphere was as good as the concert.

Conductor Stephen Bell pieced together a clever programme with something for everyone - from my personal favourite, Khachaturian’s exhilarating “Sabre Dance”, to the Faure “Pavane”.

The opening “Festive Overture” by Shostakovich sets a standard which rose as the evening continued.

The splendour of Khachaturian’s Adagio from Spartacus and the “Nimrod” from Elgar’s “Enigma Variations” were other highlights.

The second half brought excerpts from Holst’s “Planets” Suite, the “March to the Scaffold” from Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique”, pieces from Brahms and Debussy and a suitably crashing finale, Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture”.