London Conchord Ensemble
27th November 2009
| Schumann | Märchenerzählungen for clarinet, viola & piano, Op 132. |
| Brahms | Piano Quartet No 3 in C minor, Op 60. |
| Kurtag | Hommage a Robert Schumann for clarinet, viola & piano. |
| Dohnanyi | Sextet for clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello & piano. |
Schumann’s “Tellings of Fairy Stories” made a bright, tender and effervescent start to this concert on a dank November evening. They were the prelude to the hugely romantic Brahms quartet with its dramatic chord opening. He began writing it while he was in the Schumann household and it conveys his feelings for Clara. It is true that the piece was partially re-written over many years before completion, but the original passion remains. It positively strains at the boundaries of the quartet form as though it were about to break out. The members of the London Conchord Ensemble realised the piece brilliantly and with an impeccable ensemble that over the seven or so years of their existence has won them much praise.
After
the interval the group turned their talents to a very different
musical world - that of Gyorgy Kurtag. His music made different
demands on the players and though Kurtag made homage to Schumann
there was no romanticism in it. Kurtag, after all, was writing in
the middle of the 20th century and looking back across a revolution
in music and sensibility. Although he used the same orchestration as
Schumann he added an unmanned bass drum. At the end of the piece
the clarinettist tapped the beast lightly, whether in ironic
farewell or as a dying fall was not clear. In any case, it is
probably the only instance of the instrument appearing on a chamber
music platform. Kurtag’s work is idiosyncratically his own, but his
interest in musical forms must be wide. He also made a homage to
Nancy Sinatra. One wonders what the lady with the boots would have
made of it. Kurtag was the only living composer in this concert and
it would be interesting to hear more of his work.
Dohnanyi’s sextet wound up the evening. Not now as well regarded as he once was, his headlong passages, with notes flying in all directions, punctuated with moments of latter day romanticism was a delightful ending to a fascinating concert and a suitable farewell from a gathering of brilliant performers.
Reviewer: Stanley Coward
Photographer: David James