German National Orchestra, Marshall, Cadogan Hall review - sheer youthful exuberance

This concert was an effusion of pure joy. Billed as the German National Orchestra, the Bundesjugendorchester (Federal Youth Orchestra), all of whose players are aged from 14 to 19, make a glorious, powerful sound. Just over 100 teenage musicians packed the extended stage at Cadogan Hall last night, and played to a nearly full house.

It was the orchestral players' smiles and their occasional unrestrained giggles which caught the attention, and told the story of quite how much they were all enjoying this concert and the whole experience of being on stage in London to make music. Their evening of British and American works, impeccably led by Wayne Marshall, was part of a nine-date tour, which started in the splendour of the Goldener Saal of the Musikverein in Vienna, and will end this Sunday afternoon at Usher Hall in Edinburgh.

I found the energy and the sense of fulfilment from music-making which every section of the orchestra conveyed irresistible. Holst’s The Planets showed, among many virtues, quite how strong German brass playing is, even from youngsters. And the sight and sound of every member of the massed strings (pictured below by Charlie Kent) as they collectively leant into the concluding sections of “Mars, the Bringer of War” truly left its mark. The young players gained confidence from the very clear direction of Wayne Marshall. A prime example was his shaping of the closing sections of “Saturn” which encouraged playing from them of real beauty, poignancy and depth. There were also some stunning individual contributions from the orchestra’s very strong soloists. Principal horn Magdalena Brouwer brought flawless sound, superb pacing and real character to the opening solo of “Venus” from The Planets, a movement in which the oboe playing of Seyun Yuni Kim also shone. Stand-in orchestra leader Darius Schmelzer made an impression with every one of his violin solos. Marshall has had a long affection for Gershwin’s music, which he talked about on BBC Radio 3’s “In Tune” on Monday (which was also his birthday). He explained how he had loved his first encounter with the F major concerto as a teenager, and was Jasbo Brown for Simon Rattle’s Glyndebourne Porgy and Bess in 1987. Marshall took command in Rhapsody in Blue, which he conducted from the piano. He does the solo sections completely improvised and open, even taking the opportunity to respond at pitch to some rogue electronic sounds emanating from the balcony, while playing with a gloriously light touch reminiscent of Phineas Newborn Jr. And one could only admire the ease and clarity with which he brought the young orchestral players back in after his soloing. Serendipity, alchemy, truly remarkable to experience.

This trans-national touring project was also the cue for a great new initiative, "to promote artistic collaboration between the countries and to inspire future generations". The Bundesjugendorchester and their producer, the Bonn-based Musikrat, in partnership with the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, have founded a 24-member choir, the German-British Choir Academy: 12 young students from all over Germany plus 12 students from RNCM. The choir performed the haunting finale to “Neptune” from out of sight in the balcony. It was a quiet, thoughtful yet thought-provoking way to end a very fine concert.

• The German National Orchestra Tour continues to Jan 19
• More classical reviews from theartsdesk