Directing the orchestra while playing the oboe used to feel like a party piece, and it’s still marvellous to watch, but it’s impossible to deny the dep
« Leleux is one of the world’s greatest oboists, but he’s also a conductor, and when he visits the SCO he tends to do both, sometimes simultaneously.
Directing the orchestra while playing the oboe used to feel like a party piece, and it’s still marvellous to watch, but it’s impossible to deny the depth of his music-making. »
« French oboist and conductor François Leleux has become a regular – and very welcome – visitor to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in recent seasons, and his flamboyant, larger-than-life musical personality makes him a distinctly memorable one, too. Leleux had toned things down somewhat for this brief survey of music from the early 19th century, which made for fascinating listening: some pieces looked fondly backwards, others resolutely forwards, despite being written only a few years apart.
…Leleux’s Hebrides Overture was fascinating: surging and passionate, yes, but also sinewy, even oily, its individual lines spun out with huge character by the SCO players, as though out to demonstrate the authenticity of the composer’s nautical picture painting. »