Reviews

We include a selection of reviews for past performances:-

Ana-Maria Vera, 29th October 2005

Brilliant Accompanist returns to Claygate as Assured and Refined Piano Soloist

The Music Society’s 64^th public season continued on 29 October at Holy Trinity Church, Claygate, with a concert by the American pianist of Dutch/Bolivian descent, Ana-Maria Vera, making her 2^ndappearance for the Society, having previously appeared as the accompanist to Steven Isserlis in February, 2004, when I wrote that she provided brilliant support throughout the evening. In fact, she has long been a soloist in her own right, having performed around the world since the age of eight and has performed concertos with well-known conductors and orchestras, as well as appearing as a recitalist at venues such as London’s Wigmore Hall and Washington’s Kennedy Center.

The programme began with Mozart’s short Piano Sonata in F major, K 332, just the thing to set the audience in a good mood. Immediately, I was struck by the flowing, easy tone produced by this still young soloist, and the succession of musical ideas emerging in the 1^st movement Allegro was beautifully expressed. In the slow movement Adagio she captured the elaborate decoration with evocative style, and the rhythmical energy of the closing Allegro assai was expressed in liquid runs before the quiet and reflective ending. Ana-Maria impressed with a very accomplished opening.

Ana-Maria continued, moving firmly from the classical era to an arch-romantic composer, Frédéric Chopin, and the contrast was immediately apparent, but the performer’s easy and sensitive artistry was still striking. She seemed to be at one with the composer, whose music has been described as resonating, breathing with the piano, never seeking to overpower it. The opening Allegro ‘maestoso’ made clear the distinction from the classical era, which had hardly ended at the time of Chopin’s birth (1810), whilst the 2^nd movement ‘quicksilver’ Scherzo allowed the soloist to display its dazzling light, even passages and its mellow and sonorous contrasts. Strongly struck chords signalled the arrival of the 3^rd movement Largo followed by passages of dramatic shading leading eventually to a reflective coda. The finale, Presto ‘non tanto’ seemed almost programmatic in places, as though some point was being emphasised, almost operatic in feeling. The powerful ending brought enthusiastic applause from the large audience as the performer left the platform for the interval.

After the break we moved from a French resident, albeit one who embodied his native Polish national tradition, to a French composer, Claude Debussy, and yet not French in the two opening pieces of his Estampes, (‘etchings’ or ‘impressions’, perhaps; it was written in the impressionist era). These were Pagodes, full of oriental phrases with effects of chimes, gongs and bells, and La soirée dans Grenade. The latter was said by Spanish composer, Manuel de Falla, to contain the most concentrated atmosphere of Andalusia. The left hand immediately announced the Spanish flavour as the piece began and yet, in places I detected something of the style of Erik Satie’s quirky Gymnopédies, composed in 1888, a few years before he first met Debussy whilst working as a café pianist. In fact, his style has been said to have inspired both Debussy and Ravel. The final piece from the selection was Jardins sous la pluie. This was based on two French nursery songs, ‘Sleep, child, sleep’ and ‘We’ll go no more to the woods’, but adapted to the theme of ‘la pluie’. This was played, perhaps more fittingly, rather as ‘une averse’ (heavy shower) rather than ‘l’orage’ (the storm) of the programme note, but an affecting rendering for all that.

The programme continued with a Spanish theme, Enrique Granados’ ‘Laments or The Maiden and the Nightingale’, which, again, was played with delicacy, particularly the nightingale’s brief cadenza with which it ended.

The final item in the programme was Franz Liszt’s arrangement of the Waltz from the Act 1 finale of Gounod’s ‘Faust’, which also incorporated the Act 2 love duet between Faust and Marguerite. The waltz sections were played with true Lisztian fire and brio, but never abandoning the delicate touch displayed throughout the concert, and the love duet was played with intense feeling and lyricism. The dramatic finale was greeted with cheers and prolonged applause. What can I say to summarise this delightful performance? Here was a pianist who clearly loves the piano, having great rapport with it, always in control, producing detailed colour and shading, with great subtlety, caressing it and making it sing with delicacy and refinement. It was a privilege to be present at such a pianistic treat!

N.W.

‘Oboeworks’ - February 2005

For the third concert of its 63rd season, Oxshott & Cobham Music Society’s concert at Holy Trinity Church, Claygate was given on Saturday 29 January by ‘Oboeworks’, a quartet of oboe (Imogen Triner) and strings – violin (Roger Huckle), viola (Moira Alabaster) and cello (Richard May) – with a range of very different works for this grouping of instruments. All the players have busy careers as soloists and work also with other chamber ensembles

The concert began with a quartet by one of the many Czech composers working in Germany or Austria in the eighteenth century, Joseph Fiala. The style was, unsurprisingly, quite Haydnesque. As with all the pieces we heard, the format was of an oboe sonata with string accompaniment. I’m guessing at the score markings, but the quartet opened with an allegro, followed by a short andante with the oboe very much to the fore. The third movement adagio was an evocative, dreamy pastorale. The allegro or presto finale was very jolly, the coda forming a brief duet between oboe and violin. All in all, a well-judged opening to the varied programme that was to come.

We were immediately pitched into Benjamin Britten’s Phantasy Quartet for Oboe and Strings, Opus 2. The cello opened with a marching-like theme, picked up by the violin and viola, giving an effect like the soldier marching home in Stravinsky’s ‘The Soldier’s Tale’, the oboe then entering, floating over the top. This then turned into a conversation between the strings, with the busy oboe seeming like a commentary. A string trio adagio became briefly agitated, calming again before the re-entry of the oboe with a theme evocative of woodland. The piece ended with a return to a mood that was again reminiscent of ‘The Soldier’s Tale’. Clearly Britten was announcing the arrival of a major talent with this, his first work to be heard publicly.

The first half concluded with a piece written for ‘Oboeworks’, Peter McGarr’s ‘Vanishing Games’, with entries for harmonica, Chinese windchimes and a tape of children playing. McGarr wrote that, ‘One of the joys of my life is walking around second-hand markets, glimpsing into peoples’ lives - the sense of a lost history. And always there are photographs, so intimate and full of secrets. I became fascinated with one of a young couple, sitting on the seashore, holding hands. This became the source of this piece, the couple’s love shining through after all these years. The music travels through their imagined life: childhood games, love songs, landscapes and lullabies, always returning to the original snapshot with the words written beneath it “Monica and I at Kimnel Bay, 1937”’. During the afternoon the players gave a workshop at the church for young schoolchildren, based around ‘Vanishing Games’, arranged by the Society. The children were encouraged to perform a Mexican wave during the opening movement, ‘Wavedance’, and they joined in various activities linked to other movements, dancing a Pennine dance and playing the windchimes in the final ‘Vanishing games’ movement. The performers introduced their instruments and one young participant played the violin for the first time.

After the interval, we heard Mozart’s well-known Oboe Quartet in F Major, K370. There always seems to be joy in Mozart, even in the more tragic themes, and you could see concentrated enjoyment in the faces of the performers.

Another happy work followed, the first movement of Schubert’s unfinished String Trio in B flat major, D471, giving woodwind a well-earned rest. This was an intimate allegro, intended for a small space, written when Schubert was 19.

For the finale, Imogen returned for a Quartet for Cor Anglais and String Trio by Jean Françaix, a light, jokey piece, influenced by Stravinsky and others working in Paris in the 1920’s. An idea of the style can be gained from my impressions of the five movements: 1. 1920’s café music, jazzy, with string pizzicato like a banjo; 2. elegiac; 3. bouncy, busy conversation piece between the instruments; 4. a distorted palm court style, very short; 5. very busy, racing headlong, like Jacques Ibert’s ‘Divertissement’, used as the signature tune for Ronnie Barker’s radio programme in the 1970s.

After cheers from the large audience, the performers returned for one short encore, again with the cor anglais, an Argentinian slow tango, ‘Oblivion’, by Piazola. This was a very well-planned programme by a group of accomplished musicians. Great fun. As I left, I reflected that I always leave concerts at OCMS in a happy mood.

N.W.

Steven Isserlis- February 2004

World-Famous Cellist Charms at Claygate

On the occasion of its annual celebrity concert at Holy Trinity Church, Claygate, Oxshott & Cobham Music Society welcomed the internationally acclaimed cellist, Steven Isserlis, who was accompanied by American pianist of Dutch-Bolivian origin, Ana-Maria Vera. The concert attracted a capacity audience, with the seating in the church adapted to accommodate them.

Steven’s programme was carefully planned, both to contrast music composed in lighter mood with more serious late works, and to link composers who knew each other and, in some cases, gave mutual help. The programme opened with a delightful piece by Slovak-born pianist and composer, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, his Variations for Cello & Piano in D minor, Op 54, based on a traditional rustic Piedmontese dance, ‘Monferrina’. Hummel, a student of Mozart and friend of Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert, has become better known in recent years, and his work had considerable influence on Chopin.

We then moved on to Chopin, his Cello Sonata in G, Op 65. Composed in 1846, near the end of his life, this was a profoundly serious work, with an affecting 3^rd movement largo. Nevertheless, there was room for a 2^nd movement scherzo and a lively finale. Of particular note was that the work was dedicated to cellist August-Joseph Franchomme, a previous owner of the ‘Feuermann’ Stradivarius cello of 1730, played by Steven Isserlis at this concert (on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation of Japan). At the conclusion, Steven and Ana-Marie left the stage to enthusiastic applause.

After the interval, the programme reverted to lighter vein – Mendelssohn’s Variations Concertantes, Op 17, composed at the age of 19, in 1829. Not surprisingly, the variations were full of pleasing melody, on both cello and piano. And so we made another link: the variations were composed for Mendelssohn’s brother, amateur cellist Paul, later a successful banker, from whom Clara Schumann accepted financial help when her husband, Robert Schumann, was confined to a mental asylum.

Thus, we came to the highlight of the concert, Robert Schumann’s Violin Sonata No 3 in A minor, arranged for cello by Steven Isserlis. The sonata was Schumann’s last major work, composed in 1853, just before his breakdown. Some 40 years later, Clara, distressed at the memory of their origins, destroyed her husband’s notable Cello Romances, and the copies in her possession of the present work. However, whilst the Romances are now lost, other copies of the sonata survived, although it was only published in its entirety in 1956. The music itself was dramatic in character, the drama brought out strongly by Steven, although even in this work there was a lively 2^ndmovement scherzo. Steven’s accompanist, Ana-Marie, a concert pianist in her own right, provided brilliant support throughout the evening, never more so than in this stirring piece. The exciting finale brought cheers from the delighted audience as the duo ended it in dramatic style.

The final composition was by Giaccomo Rossini, better known as an opera composer, especially ‘The Barber of Seville’. Rossini gave up his operatic work in his early thirties and gave himself up to becoming a gourmet – we have him to thank for ‘Tournedos Rossini’. Nevertheless, he composed some charming works for small instrumental ensembles, amongst his ‘sins of old age’, which never fail to delight, of which ‘Variations on “Une Larme”’, a tear, was another. Steven said that he originally considered this ‘impossible and weak’, but had changed his mind, to our great benefit. No wonder Schumann described Rossini as ‘a lovely, fluttering butterfly’. Cellist and accompanist were not allowed to leave by the cheering audience before treating us to one Brahms’ Hungarian Dances as an encore.

These jottings have drawn on the fascinating programme notes provided by Steven for the concert.

N.W.

Davide Franceschetti 19th October 2002.

International Virtuoso Pianist in Claygate

The 2002/2003 season of the Oxshott and Cobham Music Society continued with a virtuoso performance by the up-and-coming Italian pianist Davide Franceschetti on Saturday, 19 October at Holy Trinity Church, Claygate. With his long black hair and classical Italian visage, the 26-year old winner of many international competitions presented a striking image, as commented on in his BBC lunch-time concert broadcast earlier in the week.

Franceschetti opened his concert before another large audience with an enchanting, lyrical performance of Brahms’ ‘6 Pieces for Piano’, Opus 118, one of Brahms’ last works for piano, composed in 1892. Davide displayed great sensitivity, with variations in style to suit the character of the different pieces, four Intermezzi, a Ballade and a Romance. The climax of the final Intermezzo was played with appropriate grandeur.

The pianist continued with Busoni’s transcription of J S Bach’s chaconne in D minor from the Partita No 2 for solo violin. As always with Busoni, the work was recreated in a manner suitable for the modern grand piano, a Bechstein in this recital. This is probably the most famous movement in Bach’s whole set of partitas, and a pinnacle in the solo violin repertory. Franceschetti showed his easy style to great effect in the sixty-four variations on an eight bar theme proceeding to ever greater complexity.

The programme was completed after the interval with the original, piano version of Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures at an Exhibition,’ probably better known in recent times from Ravel’s fine orchestral arrangement. Hearing this original version made it obvious why Mussorgsky wrote it for solo piano, with Franceschetti extracting both charm and excitement from the varied movements. The work was stimulated both by an exhibition of paintings by a friend, Victor Hartmann, and by the death of another friend. Although there were sombre and macabre movements, there were also cheerful and playful ones, including ‘The Tuilleries Gardens’, ‘The Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks’ and ’The Market at Limoges’. The ‘Promenade’ with which the piece starts, and of which variations are played between several of the movements, was given with affecting contrasts. The finale, ‘The Great Gate of Kiev’ produced impressive majesty from the young virtuoso, who is already ranking amongst the most sought after soloists.

The enthusiastic audience brought him back to play an elegant performance of J S Bach’s ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,’ as encore.

N.W.