Category Archives: Small scale

In concert – Mark van de Wiel, Philharmonia Chamber Players – Gipps & Weber

Posted on by
Reply

Philharmonia Chamber Players [Mark van de Wiel (clarinet, above), Eugene Lee, Fiona Cornall (violins), Scott Dickinson (viola), Karen Stephenson (cello)]

Gipps Rhapsody in E flat major (1942)
Weber Clarinet Quintet in B flat major Op.34 (1811-15)

Royal Festival Hall, London
Thursday 20 February 2025

Reviewed by Ben Hogwood Picture of Mark van de Wiel (c) Luca Migliore

This free concert in the Royal Festival Hall was a breath of fresh air. Bolstered by visitors, the auditorium was a heartening two-thirds full, the audience made up of families, tourists and workers seeking musical enlightenment. Yours truly fell into the latter category!

The Philharmonia Orchestra have played to this type of crowd for decades now, either by way of introduction to their evening concerts (like this one) or providing a standalone concert focusing on a particular composer (Music of Today) or instrument.

In this instance they covered all bases, with music for clarinet and string quartet introduced from the stage by principal clarinet Mark van de Wiel. The ensemble began with a relative rarity, Ruth Gipps’ Rhapsody in E flat major only coming in from the cold in recent years. Dedicated to her fellow RCM student and future husband, Robert Baker, it is an attractive piece with affection evident from its soft, pastorally inflected first statement. However Gipps’ folk-inspired variant on the opening theme steals the show, firstly heard on cello then subsequently joined by its companions, the clarinet finally singing eloquently over pizzicato strings.

In his talk Van de Wiel’s love of the piece was evident, before he introduced another sleeping giant, Weber’s Clarinet Quintet. Often sitting in the shade of its illustrious companions by Mozart and Brahms, this winsome piece – written for clarinettist Heinrich Baermann – demonstrates just how far the instrument had progressed in the two decades since Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto.

Van de Wiel demonstrated how his clarinet, with 17 keys, was at an advantage to that of Baermann’s ten, in theory reducing the difficulty. His modesty, however, was made clear in the virtuoso demands Weber still makes on the instrument, a fully-fledged soloist, with all manner of tricks up its sleeve.

To Weber’s credit this is not at the expense of musical quality or emotional impact, for although we enjoyed some flights of fancy in the first movement Allegro there was plenty of feeling in the dialogue between clarinet and string quartet. A tender, operatic second movement followed, then an airy and enjoyably mischievous Menuetto rather fast for dancing perhaps but charming all the same. Then came the brilliantly executed finale, living up to its Allegro giojoso marking as Van de Wiel mastered Weber’s increasingly athletic demands with flair and musicality.

Happily both pieces have been recorded as part of a new album forthcoming from the quintet on Signum Classics, where they will team this repertoire with Anna Clyne’s Strange Loops. If the performances match these live accounts, they will constitute a fine document from one of Britain’s very best clarinettists. As though to confirm this, the assembled throng left wreathed in smiles.

For details on the their 2024-25 season, head to the Philharmonia Orchestra website

Published post no.2,452 – Friday 21 February 2025

Arcana @ 10… Musical moments: Sebastian Rochford & Kit Downes – A Short Diary

Posted on by
Reply
Sebastian Rochford & Kit Downes @ Kings Place. Photo (c) John Earls

As part of Arcana’s 10th birthday celebrations, we invited our readers to contribute with some of their ‘watershed’ musical moments from the last 10 years.

Regular contributor John Earls writes:

A Short Diary consists of seven short piano pieces composed by Sebastian Rochford in memory of his father, the poet and academic Gerard Rochford, who died in 2019. An eighth piece was composed by his father. It is a profound and moving expression of loss. Rochford’s drumming combines beautifully with Kit Downes‘ piano playing.

When I heard it my own father had a few months before been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (I am still a co-carer for him). This has been both an uplifting and consoling collection for me.

In January 2024 I saw Rochford and Downes perform the album at Kings Place, London and wrote about it for Arcana here

John Earls is Director of Research at Unite the Union. He posts on Bluesky and tweets / updates his ‘X’ content at @john_earls

You can listen to the album on Tidal below:

Published post no.2,434 – Wednesday 6 February 2025

In concert – The London Jazz Orchestra: Celebrating Kenny Wheeler @ The Vortex

Posted on by
Reply

The London Jazz Orchestra (full line-up below) / Scott Stroman

The Vortex, London, 2 February 2025

by John Earls. Photo credits (c) John Earls, picture of Kenny Wheeler (c) Scott Stroman

Kenny Wheeler (1930-2014) was a UK-based, Canadian born composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player who left a unique and significant mark on jazz and particularly UK and European jazz. He composed and played in a number of formats and was a master of writing for the big band and jazz orchestra.

Wheeler was a founder member of the London Jazz Orchestra (now in its 34th year), one of the best and most exciting big bands around. So it was more than fitting that the LJO paid tribute to what would have been his 95th birthday with this performance of his Long Suite 2005, written for his 75th birthday tour.

Wheeler’s tunes and arrangements are wonderfully and distinctively melodic and this concert was fine testimony to that quality. Yet they often also have a melancholy element to them which can be strangely uplifting. He is supposed to have said “Sad music makes me feel happy” and this is an attribute he delivers frequently and brilliantly.

I also recall jazz bassist Dave Holland at a Kenny Wheeler tribute concert in 2015 citing another classic Wheeler quote: “I don’t say much. And when I do I don’t say much”. I guess he said it all in the music.

To my knowledge this suite has still to be recorded and released, which is a real shame. It is a continuous piece of some 40 minutes that meanders beautifully without losing thread and combines some glorious ensemble unity with solo virtuosity.

Kenny Wheeler (c) Scott Stroman

For this performance Miguel Gorodi sat in the ‘Kenny Wheeler chair’, playing the flugelhorn admirably. Brigitte Beraha, sitting next to him, provided gorgeous vocal accompaniment. Stand out solos included trombone, saxophones and double bass. There was crisp and articulate drumming throughout from the LJO debutante drummer.

Special mention should go to trumpeter Henry Lowther, an LJO stalwart and longstanding collaborator of Wheeler’s (I have previously noted how both Lowther and Wheeler played trumpet on Nick Drake’s Hazey Jane II), who is not just a solid LJO force but something of a Wheeler encyclopaedia.

A shout out too to saxophonist Pete Hurt who does so much in transcribing the work of Wheeler (and others) and keeping it alive, a fact acknowledged by LJO Musical Director, Scott Stroman, whose own enthusiasm whilst conducting this performance saw him nearly jump through the ceiling.

The first set of this concert demonstrated that the LJO still has significant composing talent in its ranks with exciting new music by pianist Alcyona Mick and bassist Calum Gourlay. It was great to see and hear a concert that contained such a thread of continuity in what the LJO does.

The music of Kenny Wheeler deserves to always be heard. I’m sure that as long as the London Jazz Orchestra is around it will be.

The London Jazz Orchestra line-up for this concert, directed by Scott Stroman, was:

Miguel Gorodi (solo part in Long Suite 2005), Luke Lane, Ed Hogben, Henry Lowther, Andre Cannier (trumpets); Martin Gladdish, Richard Pywell, Richard Foote (trombones), Yusuf Narcin (bass trombone); Matt Sulzmann (alto and soprano sax), Alyson Cawley (alto sax and clarinet), Tori Freestone (tenor sax and flute), Pete Hurt (tenor sax), Mick Foster (baritone sax and bass clarinet)

with Brigitte Beraha (vocals), Joe Garland-Johnston (guitar), Alcyona Mick (piano), Calum Gourlay (bass), Luke Tomlinson (drums)

John Earls is Director of Research at Unite the Union. He posts on Bluesky and tweets / updates his ‘X’ content at @john_earls

The London Jazz Orchestra play at The Vortex on most first Sundays of the month.

Song for Someone: The Musical Life of Kenny Wheeler by Brian Shaw and Nick Smart is published by Equinox on 14 February 2025.

Some Days Are Better: The Lost Scores by Kenny Wheeler Legacy, featuring the Royal Academy of Music Jazz Orchestra and Frost Jazz Orchestra, was released by Greenleaf Music on 31 January 2025.

Published post no.2,431 – Tuesday 4 February 2025

In concert – Juilliard String Quartet @ Wigmore Hall: Beethoven Op.130 & Jörg Widmann

Posted on by
Reply

Juilliard String Quartet [Areta Zhulla, Ronald Copes (violins), Molly Carr (viola), Astrid Schween (cello)]

Beethoven String Quartet no.13 in B flat major Op.130 (1825-6)
Widmann String Quartet no.8 ‘Beethoven Study III’ (2020)

Wigmore Hall, London
Monday 20 January 2025 (1pm)

by Ben Hogwood

Since its formation in 1946, the Juilliard String Quartet has not surprisingly undergone a number of iterations. Its present line-up, nearly 80 years on, has brought new impetus to carry the group far into the 21st century. For this Wigmore Hall visit, a BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert, the quartet paired late Beethoven with relatively late Jörg Widmann – a piece he wrote in the last five years.

More of that below, but the quartet’s decision to begin with the longer Beethoven was vindicated on account of the musical material. The String Quartet no.13 was the second of Beethoven’s five ‘late’ quartets to be published, and the third in order of composition – with its sixth and final movement known as the Grosse Fuge. A highly unusual and forward-looking piece, this movement was initially shunned by audiences, described by a critic as ‘incomprehensible, like Chinese’. Ultimately it has been recognised as a masterpiece of counterpoint and structure.

In light of its reception Beethoven completed an alternative finale for the quartet in November 1826, four months before his death – in fact the last music he wrote. The Juilliard chose this path, changing the balance of the work to place extra emphasis on the penultimate Cavatina, a movement of special grace. Indeed much of this performance found the quartet taking on serenade-like qualities, the Juilliard preferring to stress the sunlit melodies and textures, while emphasising the dance rhythms.

The first movement’s Adagio and Allegro sections had vivid colours and phrasing, brilliantly played but needing more contrast between the sections. The following Prestissimo was over in the blink of an eye, forceful when needed, and providing a contrast with the attractively voiced Andante, with tasteful melodic phrasing. The attractive Alla danza tedesca brought a serenity to Beethoven’s late writing, as opposed to the restrained beauty of the Cavatina, where first violinist Areta Zhulla’s playing was especially fine. The finale introduced a playful approach, especially welcome as the music approached its final bars, which were authoritative while lacking the outright drama the Grosse Fuge would have brought.

The connection between Beethoven and Jörg Widmann is unusually strong, the German clarinettist and composer completing a clutch of works (to date) drawing on his predecessor’s inspiration. Five of those works are his string quartets nos.6-10, a series titled Study on Beethoven, of which this quartet is the third instalment. Taking the fourth movement Alla danza tedesca from the Beethoven we had just heard, Widmann worked the second movement of this quartet into eight striking variations on its theme, explaining the placement of this work in the concert running order.

It was played with commendable virtuosity, and often enjoyable in its knowing use of Beethoven’s themes. The BBC Radio 3 announcer Fiona Talkington said the quartet had confided how Widmann now felt Beethoven was a ‘close friend…someone you can poke fun at!’, and he certainly took the opportunity for high jinks in the finale, where references to the Emperor piano concerto were rather heavily signposted.

The second movement was the most inventive, a fever dream refracting Beethoven’s theme through instrumental prisms of wildly varying shades. Ultimately you had to admire Widmann’s craft, and Beethoven’s initial invention, forgiving the occasional tendency to play more obviously to the audience. On this occasion it proved a most successful tactic, finishing a concert packed with positive energy. The only slight blot on the landscape came via some low frequency drilling which could be heard in quiet passages, no doubt emanating from one of the many building sites currently adorning Central London. Thankfully the music of Beethoven transcends such things!

Listen

You can listen to this concert as the first hour of BBC Radio 3’s Classical Live, which can be found on BBC Sounds

Published post no.2,417 – Tuesday 17 January 2025

In concert – Sacconi Quartet & Festival Voices: Earth Unwrapped – Terry Riley’s Sun Rings

Posted on by
Reply

Sacconi Quartet [Ben Hancox, Hannah Dawson (violins), Robin Ashwell (viola), Cara Berridge (cello]; Festival Voices [Lucy Cronin, Ana Beard Fernández, Lucy Goddard, Sam Jenkins, Michael Craddock, Oskar McCarthy] / Greg Batsleer; Brett Cox (electronics)

Riley Sun Rings (2002)

Hall One, Kings Place, London
Thursday 16 January 2025

by Ben Hogwood Pictures courtesy of Monika S Jakubowska / Kings Place

A sobering thought: in the course of this concert, the NASA spacecraft Voyager 1 travelled another 60,000 miles away from the Solar System.

Quite how far it will travel in the course of the Kings Place festival Earth Unwrapped remains to be seen, but by that time audiences will have enjoyed a wide array of musical and visual treats, all designed to heighten awareness of the plight in which we find ourselves here on planet Earth.

Such thoughts were close to the surface throughout Sun Rings, an ambitious start to the festival. The substantial work was completed by Terry Riley in 2002, the result of an approach made by NASA to the Kronos Quartet. They wanted to create a work based on recordings of ‘space sounds’ (plasma waves) from Voyager 1 made by Professor Donald Gurnett. Riley had these transferred to audible audio frequencies in order to mark 25 years since the spacecraft was launched, at the same time contemplating the place of humanity in the universe. Since Sun Rings was completed, Voyager I has passed from the Solar System to interstellar space.

The Kronos Quartet released their recording of Sun Rings in 2019 (reviewed by Arcana here), and until now were the only ensemble to have played the piece in public. This UK premiere from the Sacconi Quartet and Festival Voices changed that, an illustration of the ever-growing reach of ‘minimalist’ music. The twelve assembled on stage performed heroically, the unbroken span of ten movements lasting 90 minutes yet delivered with flair, poise and no little emotion.

The music was prefaced by words from Riley himself, a stamp of authenticity and gratitude from the 90-year-old composer. It was the first of many audio clips carefully managed by Brett Cox, whose contributions were crucial to the success of the performance. Chief among these were the audio translations of the Voyager craft itself, converted by Riley from spectrographs. They provided an industrial edge to the sound – reminiscent of Voyager contemporaries Cabaret Voltaire – and were alternately eerie and consoling in their different sound worlds. As the audience sat in the dark the notion of being on our own journey was inescapable, a reminder that our own planet moves even quicker than Voyager 1 itself.

The quartet made a strong start, bolstered by colourful percussion. The Overture, Hero Danger and Beebopterismo sections had rhythmic vitality, complemented by the electronics and samples. Towards the halfway mark however the momentum and intensity flagged, the notion of deep space now all around us but feeling more oppressive. Time stood relatively still in the eerie Earth / Jupiter Kiss section, though Riley’s musical intensity flagged before being re-energised by the Festival Voices. The excellent singers brought expression and impetus to Earth Whistlers and Prayer Central, but on occasion it was difficult to hear some of the words, the singers’ pitch aligned with the frequency of the audio recordings.

The most powerful music, ironically, was the slowest and the most restrained. The coda, One Earth, One People, One Love, became a deeply felt meditation, the singers whispering under their breath as they moved slowly to the exit in an inspired piece of choreography. The pensive strings remained, adding their commentary to recorded spoken word, whose statements could not have been more apt.

As I write this, the news of alarming carbon dioxide levels in the Earth’s atmosphere serves as a reminder of our changing world, hurtling towards the environmental precipice. This stark reality check confirms Earth Unwrapped to be arguably the most important arts festival in London this year – and this was an auspicious start.

For more information on the Earth Unwrapped festival, head to the Kings Place website. Click on the artist names for Sacconi Quartet and Festival Voices, and composer Terry Riley. You can visit NASA to find out where Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are now

Published post no.2,415 – Saturday 17 January 2025