Press Reviews

Penrith Music Club

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
21 September 2009

The opening concert of the 66th season proved to be an exhilarating display by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment directed by Margaret Faultless, a prestigious event made possible by Arts Council funding and support from the Northern Rock Foundation. The nine string players plus harpsichordist Steven Devine covered a wide range of the Italian and German Baroque from Corelli to Handel and delighted a large audience with playing of precise articulation and bracing expressiveness.

The expert use of period instruments has transformed the conception of Baroque music over the years and created a sound world far removed from the leaden performances which were the norm not so long ago. The opening bars of Corelli’s first Concerto Grosso from his op.6 set the scene with light, clear chords and running passages that tripped along with ease. Playing on gut strings with a modicum of vibrato and the lighter, convex eighteenth century bow ensures a palette of sound that lacks decibels but gained on this occasion with a great variety of tone colours . Thus Vivaldi’s Concerto in D minor for two violins and cello was given a refreshing account by Margaret Faultless, Alison Bury and Richard Tunnicliffe – invigorating music despatched with controlled élan.

The biggest piece of the evening was Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no.5 which brought Lisa Beznosiuk (flute) and Steven Devine ( harpsichord) into the limelight with Margaret Faultless. The slow movement confines itself to the three soloists and it was beautifully played , allowing the harpsichord to be heard – sadly its fate is too often to be overwhelmed by the whole ensemble. Bach’s striking imagination also gives the harpsichord a virtuoso cadenza in the first movement which Steven Devine tossed off with aplomb. The rest of the players contributed to a stylish performance with sprightly tempi and an alert sense of ensemble.

Lisa Beznosiuk returned later to charm the audience with Vivaldi’s Flute Concerto La Notte. The blend of Baroque flute with strings was a winning combination which enhanced the lively parts and created atmospheric moments in the evocation of ghosts and sleep. Handel’s Concerto Grosso op. 6 no.7 was further evidence that the players were thoroughly enjoying themselves, particularly in the springing rhythms of the final Hornpipe.

• Geminiani’s tribute to his teacher Corelli, an orchestral version of La Follia, a set of variations for violin, made a fitting end to an outstanding concert. To the last note the players maintained the highest standard of imaginative phrasing and musical energy which would surely have captivated Corelli et al as much as it did the Penrith audience
  J.U.
  

Barbirolli String Quartet
23 March 2009

The apparently ndless production of fine young string quartets these days is an encouraging feature of the musical world. The enthusiastic audience who turned up for the recital by the Barbirolli String Quartet in the Methodist Church were treated to an exhilarating display of positive and highly expressive music making. Formed in 2003 when the players were students at the Royal Northern College of Music, the Quartet displayed a controlled maturity as well as the expected energy of youth.

Beethoven’s Quartet in F minor op.95 is one of his most intensely concentrated works and its explosive opening was given high voltage treatment – a call to attention par excellence. The contrasts of dynamics and mood were managed with great sensitivity, the melodic lines in the slow movement flowed easily, the spiky rhythms of the scherzo danced with impressive precision and the finale ended in a virtuoso flourish. This was quartet playing of very high quality.

More intriguing was the Lyric Suite by Alban Berg, although written as long ago as 1926, still unfamiliar to most concert goers. One of the most technically difficult pieces in the quartet repertoire it nevertheless proved well within the capabilities of the Barbirolli Quartet – evidently the result of much detailed and dedicated unravelling of this complex score. Ella Brinch , the viola player, introduced the work, revealing the programme of Berg’s secret love affair with Hannah Fuchs. Each of the six movements describes the progress of their doomed relationship. Themes were played and the audience prepared for a committed performance of this iconic twentieth century work. The emotional range of the music came over with startling effect – so much more powerful than listening to a CD. In fact it was a privilege to listen to music conceived in tormented circumstances, transformed into fascinating musical images and brought to life by outstandingly talented artists. The audience reaction at the interval was certainly positive; even if some were still a little unsettled most realised they had been listening to something very special.

The third Viennese classic of the evening was Brahms’ Quartet in C minor op.51 no.1, a work which suited the Barbirolli Quartet down to the ground. First violin Rakhi Singh led the ensemble with poised authority, always relished the soaring melodies and feisty cross rhythms, yet always produced a pure, focussed sound. Second violin Katie Stillman was the most obviously committed player giving Brahms’ inner harmonies the full works. Violist Ella Brinch and cellist Victoria Simonsen balanced well in the lower regions with elegant melodic lines and constant rhythmic awareness. The quartet sound throughout the Brahms was as rich and exciting as you could wish for, the excellent ensemble seemed to be effortless – in fact another memorable evening of great music superbly performed.

Normally this would have been the last concert of the season but the recital by Elizabeth Watts (soprano) and Simon Lepper (piano) last October was cancelled and will now be given on Monday 27 April, following the AGM at 6.30pm.
J.U.

Rautio Piano Trio Monday 19 January 2009

The New Year started with a brilliant recital by an outstanding young ensemble in a program of wide ranging interest. Jane Gordon (violin), Adi Tal (cello), and Jan Rautio (piano) performed trios from four centuries, the 18th to the 21st, with great flair.

A bonus to the evening was the pre-concert talk given by the composer John Casken about his Trio written in 2002. The opportunity of hearing how the idea of a work is born and develops in the imagination of the composer was a fascinating insight which certainly enhanced appreciation of the subsequent performance. Mr Casken has written two operas and followed each with a chamber piece which reworks vocal themes from the opera in the very different medium of an intimate instrumental ensemble. His second opera God’s Liar based on a novella by Tolstoy, provided the material for this Trio. Aided by examples played by the Rautio Trio the composer identified themes, explaining their significance in the opera, and outlined the progression of ideas through the work’s five short movements. Questions and answers also helped to put us in a receptive frame of mind for music that would have otherwise been tougher to digest. Its rhythmic complexities and often quirky turns of phrase were despatched with apparent ease by these young players, clearly committed to stimulating audiences with the best of contemporary music. In fact it is difficult to imagine better advocates for the piece.

The concert began with Haydn’s Trio in E from 1794. Here the playing was always refined and well balanced. The unusual slow movement, harking back to Bach with its thoughtful melody over a steady ground bass, could have breathed more deeply – a subtle question of tempo or possibly a hormone gap between youthful performers and mature audience? The quick outer movements however moved along with clear direction and conveyed the essential civilised atmosphere of the eighteenth century drawing room.

The interval chatter centred on the joys and tribulations of listening to music by living composers – unsettling for some but a healthy questioning of our musical prejudices can be a good idea! After the interval came easier listening in the form of Schubert and Ravel.

Schubert’s Notturno is s single slow movement written in 1827 and this was a rare and welcome opportunity to hear it – a charming early Romantic interlude before we were treated to one of the most imaginative trios of the twentieth century. What a pity Ravel wrote only one Piano Trio: dating from 1914 its unique blend of French folksong, impressionistic harmony and virtuoso writing for all three instruments sets it apart as a very special work. The Rautio Trio did it full justice with poetic playing of great assurance. Jan Rautio rose to all the challenges of the exuberant piano part, Adi Tal constantly drew the most beguiling sound from her 1765 Guadagnini cello and Jane Gordon provided a singing treble line that was always authoritative and flexible. She produced a rich and varied tone from her newly-made violin – a fine advertisement for modern instruments. The climax in the finale is a rapturous celebration that brought the concert to a storming close. Fortunately they didn’t play an encore – anything else would have been quite superfluous!
J.U

Academy of St Martin in the Fields– Monday September 22, 2008

Once again Penrith Music Club has begun its new season in the best possible way with a performance by one of the country’s leading Chamber Orchestras. A full house at Penrith Methodist Church was treated to playing of the highest standard in a well balanced and interesting programme. The ASMF has 50 years of experience, over 500 recordings and a worldwide reputation for great music making.

String orchestras can often be bland and over sentimental with a sweet cloying sound. What is so noticeable about the ASMF sound is its direct, often astringent quality with strength in depth and vigorous colour. This was certainly apparent in the opening 2 works by Janacek and Bartok. The Janacek Suite for Strings is an early work showing very little of the composer’s mature style but the playing was immediately sonorous and expressive. Rhythms were crisp and clearly articulated and the tone often gutsy and unsentimental. A lightweight work undoubtedly but it had strong advocates in the ASMF.

In contrast the mature Divertimento for Strings of Bela Bartok was immediately characterful with inventive textures and harmonic language entirely characteristic of the composer. The players seemed completely at home with this music playing it in a thoroughly idiomatic way. In the second, slow, movement the aching desolate melodies carried complete conviction. The fact that the work dates from 1939 was in evidence here. By contrast the sweeping finale was full of the barbaric rhythmic complexity of Hungarian folk dance and this English based orchestra played it for all it was worth with very un-English panache and hearts firmly ‘on the sleeve’! The ASMF displayed the full pallette of string sonorities in this work.

Two works after the interval completed the programme. A short piece by Thea Musgrave gave the players an opportunity to display their virtuosity in the multi-part writing but although the textures and strands were interesting it was hard to see where the music was heading.

Finally the orchestra played the Dvorak Serenade in E Major. Undoubtedly this would have been the work most familiar to the audience. It was played with great beauty and with obvious affection. Unfortunately the beauty of sound was somewhat at the expense of the youthful impetuosity which the composer was undoubtedly expressing. Here, in a familiar work, one felt the players should have worked harder to bring home the piece as fresh and new in the way they had done with the Janacek and Bartok works. One wanted to hear more of the characteristic ASMF sound so evident before the coffee break! Audiences should be challenged just as much by familiar works as by unfamiliar but that may take more effort on the part of the performers.

A lovely concert undoubtedly and a great start to the Club’s season but let’s be sure our music’s colours remain sharp and challenging and don’t become overlaid with the patina of respectability and familiarity.

Ian Jones

Kopelman String Quartet
Elizaveta Kopelman (piano)
Monday 17 March 2008
For the last concert of the season in the Methodist church a large audience was privileged to hear a performance of stellar quality by the Kopelman String Quartet and Elizaveta Kopelman (piano). The four string players all came through the Russian system over 30 years ago when it was at its zenith. Mikhail Kopelman led the Borodin Quartet for 20 years , Boris Kuschnir, Igor Sulyga and Mikhail Milman performed in chamber ensembles at the highest level. Their complete technical assurance was awesome, their insight into the music was a revelation.. This wealth of experience was evident from the first notes to the last.

The brilliant young pianist Elizaveta Kopelman (daughter of Mikhail) was an equal partner in the first work, the Piano Quintet of 1944 by Weinberg. Judging by the interval conversations this unfamiliar piece made a deep impression. The wide range of its emotions from war torn lamenting to optimistic exuberance and quiet moments of serenity was brought out with great panache and sensitivity. The ensemble is to record it this summer so should do well with sales in Penrith! .

Next came Borodin’s familiar Quartet no.2 music which these performers have known intimately for years yet they recreated its freshness and Romantic appeal with great conviction. The opening dialogue between first violin and cello was full of subtle nuances, the crisp rhythms of the march-like theme propelled the music forward and the expressive melodies were given the full heart-on-sleeve treatment. The changes of tempo in the second movement from fleeting scherzo to languorous waltz happened with no apparent effort while the celebrated Nocturne flowed without sentiment, rather with unerring feeling for the melodic line and relish at the cut and thrust of the energetic middle section. The finale surged on with mounting excitement to its barnstorming conclusion.

Shostakovich’s Quartet no.8 is the most often played of his 15 quartets for good reasons – its compactness and unified structure and the intensely personal autobiographical nature of the music - a moving testimony of a great artist. . The Kopelman Quartet’s special qualities are to do with ensemble and tone production: they play together through a radar system which never fails and they produce sound of quality at every dynamic level which makes for exceptional blending of tone – a rare accomplishment among most string players. Thus it was difficult to imagine how the the Shostakovich could have been better played. The meditative opening suddenly explodes with the violence of the second movement, an extraordinary demonstration by Mikhail Kopelman of incandescent, vibrant sound, only to be contrasted shortly afterwards by gentle tone evoked by the most sensitive control of bow and vibrato,. The three lower players contributed their violence in the fourth movement whose depiction of an execurton scene is all too obvious. Most notable of all was the final section in which calmness and serenity are created by the simplest of means, and a gradual descent ends up in nothingness.. The audience’ long silence at the end spoke more loudly than the applause that eventually emerged somewhat reluctantly.

An encore seemed impossible at the time but the charming, uncomplicated first movement of the First Quartet returned us gently to everyday life. This very special evening in the 64 -year history of the Music Club was only made possible by the generous legacy of a longtime keen member of the Music Club Doris Fry

Dawid Kimberg (baritone) Paul Plummer (piano

Monday 18 February 2008

The audience at Penrith Music Club was not disappointed to have braved a very chilly night to hear a recital by the young South African baritone Dawid Kimberg accompanied by Paul Plummer.
Kimberg moved to the UK in 2001 to study at the Royal College of Music and has since been establishing himself as a concert soloist as well as performing in oratorio and operatic roles. Paul Plummer was the Geoffrey Parsons Junior Fellow at the Royal College of Music from 1998-2000 where he is now busy as an accompanist and coach of sin

gers at all levels. He has made his name as one of London’s best-known young song accompanists and his work has taken him across the UK and further afield.
The recital began with Schumann’s ‘Dichterleibe’, a song cycle exploring the changing emotions during the course of a poet’s love. Schumann established the art of the lieder and the intention was that the songs should tell a story with the words and music being of equal importance. Dawid Kimberg established the variety of emotion in the cycle from the idyllic happiness of the first pieces showing the depth of the poet’s love to the anguish and pain when it was unrequited and the dramatic visions of his dreams. The singer’s clarity of diction and tone together with his facial expression communicated the changing feelings portrayed in the song cycle. Paul Plummer’s sensitive accompaniment reinforced the message of the words and was particularly effective in establishing the mood of the pieces. In several of the songs there was a beautiful extended echo of the lyrical line by the piano. The final piece epitomised the partnership between the two performers from the dramatic piano chords at the start, through the subtle changes of key and mood in the rich, well- controlled voice line to the final haunting piano epilogue.

Four songs by Roger Quilter continued the theme of love in the second half. The singer conveyed the essentially English quality of the lyrical melodic line in a seemingly effortless manner. Then came three contrasting love songs by Schubert: ‘Der Zweig’ with its ominous threatening tones followed by ‘Kriegers Ahnung’ conveying the horror of war contrasted with the soldier’s dreams of his loved one and his final despair. ’Die Taubenpost’ lightened the mood with a delightful final flutter on the piano as the singer watched the bird fly away. In all three pieces the singer’s vocal and dramatic skills enhanced the performance.
Two French love-songs by Duparc followed and the program ended with a delightfully witty performance of Britten’s ‘The Foggy Foggy Dew’ and his lively ‘Oliver Cromwell’. Mozart’s ‘Don Giovanni’ provided a welcome encore with the serenade to Elvira.
The program gave both the singer and the pianist the opportunity to display their technical skills but above all to convey their musicality, rapport and enjoyment of the music to the appreciative audience.
Jean Scott

Gnesin Piano Trio 21 January 2008

The first recital of 2008 was a hugely enjoyable performance by three outstanding Russian musicians – the Gnesin Piano Trio, Boris Brovtsyn (violin), Alexei Sarkissov (cello) and Katya Apekisheva (piano). All were trained in Moscow to a virtuoso level and in Penrith Methodist Church they demonstrated ensemble playing of effortless security and musicality.

The Haydn Trio in B flat, a late work from 1794, was mature and refined – it is in fact written as a sonata for piano with civilised comments from the string players. Although restricted to subordinate roles the violin and cello were alert to every nuance and contributed to a stylish performance with crisp bowing and clear, subdued tone. Katya Apekisheva guided the three movements with unobtrusive authority – model chamber music playing by three musicians who obviously revered Haydn.

Debussy wrote his only piano trio in 1880 at the age of 18 before he had developed hi

s impressionistic style, so it follows in the footsteps of Delibes and Massenet – superior salon music. It suited its original purpose however since at the time Debussy was employed by Nadezhda von Meck to entertain her and her family on their summer travels around Europe. The Penrith audience were also pleasantly diverted by a performance of great warmth and energy.

The tour de force came after the interval with a towering performance of the Tchaikovsky Trio in A minor op.50. Written in memory of Nikolai Rubinstein this large scale piece delves into every emotion from tragic loss to high-spirited celebration. It not only mourns a great artist but celebrates his vast musical talent.
Now the Gnesin Trio really let themselves go with playing of penetrating power. The opening theme that expresses Tchaikovsky’s sense of loss, the nostalgic moments remembering happier times, the anger against fate, the optimism that surfaces now and again were all caught in playing of passion and tenderness. The second movement’s variations summarize Nikolai Rubinstein’s attributes as a pianist and Katya Apekisheva was fully up to the task of emulating the nineteenth century virtuoso with an astonishing display of pianistic control and exuberance. Boris Brovtsyn and Alexei Sarkissov provided fervour and delicacy with the finest command of tone production and immaculate rhythmic sense. The final funeral march ended in a silence from which the audience gradually emerged feeling drained – a memorable cathartic experience.
J.U.

Llyr Williams (Piano)
Penrith Music Club
Monday November 19, 2007

Llyr Williams, one of the most outstanding young British pianists of our time, was the guest artist for the third concert of Penrith Music Club's current season, held in Penrith Methodist Church. The five works in the recital were written within a period of scarcely a hundred years but covered an astonishing range of musical styles in a performance which certainly lived up to the expectancy of such an attractive programme.

The three works played before the interval shared a common touch of humour but otherwise were totally different. Beethoven's Sonata in G (Op.31 No.1) brought electrifying scales and beautiful lyric passages to its first movement, sparkling, delicate fingerwork and real depth of feeling to its slow movement (one of the highlights of the evening), and a mesmerising humour and lightness of touch to the final rondo. Bartok's Three Burlesques, written a century later, reflect a whole variety of moods- an abrasive picture of a quarrel with his wife, the unsteady rhythms of being a bit drunk, and magical chord effects, with the hands appearing to play almost on top of each other, in the final piece.

Debussy's well-known Children's Corner Suite  was written at the same time as the Bartok pieces but inhabits a friendlier sound world, filled with the warmth and nostalgia of childhood. From the beautifully-phrased opening movement (Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum) Llyr Williams offered a lovely fluent performance, bringing out both the humorous touches and glittering pianistic effects of this imaginative work particularly well.

The second part of the concert offered two substantial works, both written about 1840 but again completely contrasting in character. Schumann's Kreisleriana (inspired by the dichotomous character Johannes Kreisler in the writings of E.T.A.Hoffmann) is really a self-portrait, representing the dreamy and impulsive sides of his own character. Some of the eight movements stress one side of his character, some both, but together they offer a great landscape of the richness and warmth of Schumann's Romantic writing, none more so than in the second movement, where the mood swings from calmness to agitation several times. It was good to have the opportunity of hearing such an authoritative performance of this fine work.

The final work was Liszt's fantasia Réminiscences de Don Juan. Liszt, the greatest piano virtuoso of the mid 19th century, was also an insatiable arranger of other people s music and constructed a truly formidable tour de force from three of the best-known themes from Mozart's Don Giovanni. Though there are some ravishing quieter moments in the central section (based on Don Giovanni's love duet with Zerlina), much of the fantasia makes incessant technical and dramatic demands on the virtuosity of the player. The ovation given to Llyr Williams at the end of this awe-inspiring display of musical pyrotechnics was thoroughly deserved - a magnificent end to an excellent recital.

Colin Marston

Chroma
Penrith Music Club
Monday October 22, 2007

For its second concert of the season Penrith Music Club hosted Chroma, the wind and strings chamber ensemble which specialises in recent and contemporary music. The group gave a magnificent concert featuring a variety of largely unfamiliar music all articulately and clearly introduced by their Artistic Director, Stuart King. It was good to hear this high quality performance of unusual music being so well received by the large Penrith audience and the club should be congratulated on its bold programming.

The Prokofiev work which opened the evening demanded virtuosic playing and the three string and two woodwind players performed with great energy and verve revealing the work's many contrasting qualities and textures. In keeping with its origin as a commission for a ballet entitled Trapeze , and the clear influences of Stravinsky, the music contrasted the bizarre surface effervescence of the circus with the darker, often lonelier, feelings of individual performers. As with Stravinsky's Petrushka the zany playfulness is in the minor key and the inner parts and instrumental interjections suggest a deeper anguish. The Chroma players fully inhabited this Russian world creating vivid visual and emotional images.

All nine players next combined for the Nonet by Arnold Bax. Immediately the spiky uncertainties of post revolution Russia were exchanged for the pastoral landscape of England though with a strong Celtic flavour and not without the typical English sense of wistful nostalgia. Once again the Chroma players inhabited this world completely. The viola's haunting ostinato opening, which permeated the first movement, was overlaid by warm translucent textures and passionate intensity; the second movement was more urgent and dynamic with delightfully colourful scoring which never became opaque even when all nine players were playing.

After the interval Chroma introduced three recent works, all of great interest. Two pieces by the 60 year old Howard Skempton revealed his abilty to play on the audience's expectations by the skilfull use of silence and repetition. His Eternity's Sunrise in particular, using short fragments of folk-like melody passed from one instrument to another, created a satisfying sense of calm meditation. In contrast Shifting Mirrors by Philip Neil Martin was much more dissonant and brittle. This was as fascinating to watch as to listen to, the players having to direct in turn as they ceased to play!

Finally Chroma gave a wholly satisfying performance of Ravel's Introduction and Allegro for flute, clarinet, string quartet and harp. Having been totally Russian and then English in the first half of the concert the players now became totally French. A particularly languid opening of the work led to a brilliantly sunny allegro after which all the players, especially Helen Cole the harpist, were warmly, and deservedly, applauded.

Ian Jones

The London Mozart Players
Penrith Music Club
Monday September 24, 2007

Cumberland and Wesmorland Herald 6 October 2007

Penrith Music Club's new season began in fine style with a splendid concert given by the London Mozart Players. Inevitably Mozart featured on the bill of fare and the Players performed his Divertimento in D as to the manner born with energy, verve and crisp ensemble. This was chamber music writ large. The twenty members of the conductor-less group are a close-knit band who respond to each other and to their expressive leader, Susanna Candlin, and the Mozart piece indicated the standard of playing we were to expect.

However it was Britten's Frank Bridge Variations which revealed the Players' full range of expressive power and tone colour. This is an astonishingly inventive piece which even now, 70 years on, arrests attention. The excellent programme notes (a regular delight at the Music Club's concerts) pointed out many details of wit and humour in the piece and these the Players characterised magnificently, in particular the second variation's ungainly march and, later, the hilarious sight of the lower string players all tucking their instruments under their arm and strumming them, guitar-style, for all they were worth! Every movement brought new insights into the piece: the echoes of Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale in Variation 5, the composer's passion for the viola in Variation 6, the weird other-worldly Variation 9 with its pre-echoes of the composer's own later setting of the ghostly 'Lyke Wake Dirge' and, finally, Britten's love of Mahler in the orchestration of the Finale. This was a very fine performance, humorous and moving by turns which would surely have delighted the composer.

After the Britten the orchestra turned to the Bach D Minor Double Concerto with Jennifer Godson joining the leader as soloists. This was a robust and resonant performance with few nods towards 'authenticity' which showed clearly how Bach's music can sound richly Romantic. The Players' use of vibrato added warmth and lustre especially in the slow movement. The soloists were well matched and the contrasting timbres of their two instruments added greatly to the expressive quality of the exchanges between them.

Finally Tchaikovsky's wonderful Serenade for Strings was performed with rich Elgarian sonority and expansiveness with an astonishing fullness of sound for such a small ensemble. In contrast the Waltz second movement - outdoing the Viennese at their own game! - was full of delightful detail from the lower strings.

This was a triumphant concert, a real coup for the organisers, and the final comment must be to mention the astonishing dexterity of the fast playing: such clarity and precision!

Ian Jones