Category Archives: Small scale

The ever-flexible Bach – Antoine Tamestit at Wigmore Hall

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Antoine Tamestit performs two solo Bach suites and a new commission from Olga Neuwirth

antoine-tamestit

Antoine Tamestit (soprano) – Wigmore Hall, London, live on BBC Radio 3, 27 April 2015.

Listening link (opens in a new window):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05s3dhx

on the iPlayer until 28 May

Spotify

In case you cannot hear the broadcast, I have put together a Spotify playlist of the Bach suites played by Tamestit himself. Because the piece by Olga Neuwirth is so new – this was in fact the first performance – it has not been recorded yet. Here is the link to the Bach:


What’s the music?

J.S. Bach – Solo Cello Suite no.1 (arranged for viola) (1724, 15 minutes)

Olga Neuwirth – Weariness heals wounds (2014, 11 minutes)

J.S. Bach – Solo Cello Suite no.3 (arranged for viola) (1724, 19 minutes)

What about the music?

One sign of a great composer is surely the effectiveness of his music when heard on any instrument, not necessarily the one it was written for. J.S. Bach ranks among those whose music is incredibly versatile – Toccata and Fugue, Ave Maria and Sheep May Safely Graze just for starters! – and all have been successful in any number of guises.

So it is to a lesser extent with the solo cello suites, which transcribe for other stringed instruments – guitar and viola – very well.

The Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth has written for Tamestit before, in 2009 – a concerto for viola and orchestra. This much more private utterance, a response to the saturation posed by new media and some thoughts on how we can get away from that, takes a few quotations from the Concerto.

Performance verdict

These are excellent Bach performances, from a performer who is notable both for his technical command and expressive input. Tamestit ensures the Bach suites really dance, by taking pretty fast speeds but also giving plenty of air to the music. It suits the faster movements down to the ground, while the slower Sarabandes take time out for reflection.

The new piece Weariness heals wounds also gets a fine and concentrated performance. Tamestit clearly believes in this composer, and in the course of the ten minutes it is easy to hear the themes of frustration and saturation coming to the surface.

What should I listen out for?

Bach – Cello Suite no.1

1:37 – being up an octave from the cello original replaces the mellow sound of the lower instrument with a brighter viola. It works well as the dancing figures of the Prelude begin to work their magic. Towards the end an obsessive figure breaks out into a sunny finish.

3:42 – an Allemande, the first of the dance music, is relaxed and airy, and Tamestit adds to this feeling by slowing down at times in the more reflective passages. It is an effective technique.

7:50 – the Courante is a bit more lively, suggesting a quicker step in the dancing feet. Tamestit almost loses his way in the first half, with what seems like a memory lapse, but also adds some attractive ornamentation to Bach’s melodies, which is the performer’s prerogative here.

10:14 – the lovely Sarabande, a slower dance. Tamestit doesn’t let the bow rest on the string for too long, so the notes seem a bit shorter, and as a consequence they are lighter.

12:45 – the lively pair of Minuet begins, with a bracing first followed by a solemn second (beginning at 13:54 – and taken pretty fast by Tamestit here). As is customary in these suites, we hear the first Minuet again (14:45)

15:22 – the final movement in these Bach suites is always a Gigue, a dance of French origin in triple time that usually signs off the suite with some gusto. That is definitely the case here!

Neuwirth

18:33 – quite a biting start, with two strings playing pitches very close together that sound like quarter tones. The mood is tense and – as in the title – given with a certain weariness.

The jarring notes return again, suggesting that the new media is grating somewhat? Then a more aggressive section begins, where the bow is positioned near the bridge of the instrument to create a scratchy sound. Discomfort abounds!

At 25:15 a semblance of a tune begins, but it is uneasy. Then at 26:04 the ‘G’ pitch asserts its importance before a series of virtuosic and sweeping runs. Again the use of quarter tones is in evidence, and when the melodies get longer Tamestit makes the viola sound bluesy and mournful. The piece ends with a sharply plucked note.

Bach – Cello Suite no.3

31:19 – there is a nice and slightly mischievous approach in the stop-start Tamestit applies here, with grand gestures followed by quite hurried phrases. It works well as the Prelude progresses through a number of different but utterly logical keys, before going through a quick series of movements over a ‘pedal’ note, after which it works to a big finish.

34:11 – quite a bouncy Allemande this one, genial too.

37:47 – a Courante with plenty of energy, bounding out of the blocks. If you were dancing to this one – the cello suites do after all have dance movements – you’d have to be pretty quick on your feet!

40:24 – a grand Sarabande, which might not be as weighty in the hands of the viola as it is on the cello, but which still makes a strong impression. As so often in the slower dances there is time for intensely concentrated thought.

43:44 – a genial pair of Bourrées comes into view – another dance Bach used for some of his solo instrument works. Bach often writes one in a major key but contrasts it – as here at 45:07 – with a more reserved one in the minor key. Once again the first Bourrée is repeated, coming back at 46:22.

47:06 – the Gigue swings into action with an energetic burst. There is some quite dissonant double stopping too (more than one string played at once)

Encore

Kurtág – Perpetuum mobile, one of the Signs, Games and Messages

51:19 – this piece is little more than a gruff introduction and a few jarring notes lasting little more than a minute! Yet as always with Kurtág, whose pieces are famously brief but incredibly concentrated, it takes longer to write about his music than to listen to it.

Want to hear more?

Not many composers wrote for the viola on its own, but the composer Max Reger – for whom Bach was a hero and inspiration – wrote three suites. They can be heard on Spotify here as part of an album of his chamber music for viola, played by Nobuko Imai, who is accompanied by Ronald Brautigam in the substantial Sonata for viola and piano. The album can be found here

For more concerts click here

Alexei Grynyuk at the Wigmore Hall – Schubert’s last breath

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Alexei Grynyuk, Wigmore Hall, 16 April 2015.

The last of Schubert’s 21 published piano sonatas is a remarkable piece of music, as in it we encounter one of those truly rare instances where time really does seem to stand still.
Alexei Grynyuk, completing a fine season of lunchtime recitals at the Wigmore Hall under the sponsorship of Lisa Peacock, gave the piece an eloquent and moving account, maintaining remarkable feats of concentration over the near-50 minutes in which Schubert’s last inspiration unfurled.

The opening movement seemed to go on for ever – but not in a bad way! From the off it was clear Grynyuk was going to let this music breathe, refusing to hurry in much the same way the great Sviatoslav Richter used to work with the sonata. Because of that the first movement alone clocked in at 28 minutes, but the disquiet it brought whenever the left hand was rumbling low in the piano register was palpable.

Eventually there was a form of resolution, but the questioning nature of the music returned in the slow movement and its less than comfortable modulations. As the sonata progressed so did Schubert’s willingness to cast his demons aside, and because of this Grynyuk ensured the third movement scherzo became ever sunnier as it progressed. Meanwhile the finale, despite some strife in its minor key exertions, ultimately strove for positivity.

This was a magnificent and clearly thought through performance, one where Alexei Grynyuk was ready to stand back, remove any showiness from his interpretation, and let Schubert’s music do the talking. Similar praise could be levelled at his performance of the Three Movements from Petrushka, arranged by Stravinsky from the ballet. A lot of pianists show off here but Grynyuk was careful to characterise, to bring forward the abundant selection of tunes and – crucially – not to play too loudly. His approach worked wonderfully well.

A Spotify playlist containing the works in concert can be accessed below. As Alexei Grynyuk has not yet recorded these works – though I understand this performance of the Schubert was recorded for future release – I have chosen versions by Maurizio Pollini:

Kristian Bezuidenhout plays Mozart at Wigmore Hall

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Kristian Bezuidenhout plays Mozart piano music at Wigmore Hall

Kristian Bezuidenhout 2010 Photo: Marco Borggreve

Kristian Bezuidenhout (fortepiano) – Wigmore Hall, live on BBC Radio 3, 13 April 2015.

Listening link (opens in a new window):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05qdw80

on the iPlayer until 13 May

Spotify

In case you cannot hear the broadcast…Kristian Bezuidenout has recorded all of this music, save for the brief encore, as part of a complete series of Mozart’s solo piano works for Harmonia Mundi. A playlist of the works played in this concert can be found here

What’s the music?

Mozart – Piano Sonata in F major, K332 (c1783) (18 minutes) ((the ‘K’ number gives an indication of the work’s position in the Köchel catalogue of Mozart’s music)

Mozart – Adagio in F major (unknown) (6 minutes)

Mozart – Piano Sonata in D major, K284 (1775) (Dürnitz) (27 minutes)

What about the music?

mozart

The sound of the fortepiano (a very early form of the piano as we know it today) is definitely an acquired taste – and even then it has to be said not everybody acquires that taste. That is not to put you off listening to the music, but it is an advanced warning of sorts that this is a very different piano sound, one with sharp colours when played loudly. At times the sonorities approach that of a harpsichord, though with an instrument such as the one South African-born Kristian Bezuidenhout uses, a copy of an 1805 model, there is room for manoeuvre.

Kristian is in the process of recording all of Mozart’s work for the instrument, a sizeable canon that includes a number of memorable piano sonatas and several shorter but important standalone pieces. One of these is the Adagio inserted into the middle of the concert – though this is of doubtful authenticity, and may not be by Mozart at all.

The second sonata in this recital, K284, is almost twice as long as the first, and was completed in Munich for a friend of the composer’s, bassoonist Baron von Dürnitz.

Performance verdict

Kristian Bezuidenhout gives these pieces his all, leaving the listener in no doubt as to his total commitment to Mozart’s music. He adopts quite challenging speeds, the fast movements rushing along and even the slow ones being much faster than anticipated – at least in the case of the first sonata in the recital.

His right hand work is always very clear, especially when playing more than one note at once, so each of the inside parts can be heard. This is especially important with the fortepiano, where the notes do not necessarily sustain for as long.

If you are not a fortepiano enthusiast then hopefully Bezuidenhout’s graceful way with the Adagio in particular will go some way to winning you over.

What should I listen out for?

Piano Sonata in F, K332

1:37 – a genial beginning, but soon there is an outburst of storm and strife at 2:04, as Mozart wrenches the music into the minor key. Bezuidenhout exaggerates the contrasts between a relatively calm right hand and the occasionally stabbed notes in the left that give powerful energy to Mozart’s writing

8:31 – the slow movement, the middle of the three – and the most harmonically adventurous. Mozart enjoys some quite florid writing for the piano and uses the walking accompaniment to his advantage, writing music of unexpectedly profound expression. Bezuidenhout arguably plays it a bit too quickly here.

13:08 – a literal hammer blow starts this fast movement with a rapid clatter of notes. At times it sounds as though someone has sat on the lower end of the piano, such is the force of the playing! The fortepiano certainly brings alive the contrasts in Mozart’s writing for keyboard, and here Bezuidenhout uses it to bring out the bell-like figurations in the right hand. Towards the end there is a lovely, graceful touch from the pianist that brings us to a calm finish.

Adagio in F

21:26 – a tender, almost operatic piece of work where the right hand at times takes on the profile of a singer. There is a slightly mischievous element to the melody, which can overdo itself at times, but it is charming much of the time.

Piano Sonata in D, K284

29:18 – this piece starts with a flourish, and Bezuidenhout keeps a brisk tempo throughout. The first main theme is vigorous, the second a bit more thoughtful and graceful, especially when it appears the second time around at 31:18.

34:26 – a thoughtful second movement, and an airy one, with a lightness of touch that really suits the music. There is an attractive ‘question and answer’ between the hands.

39:18 – a long third movement, which is a theme and variations – a form in which Mozart excels. A relatively simple theme is heard to start with before the music heads through twelve very different reworkings of the source material, each one seemingly more difficult than the last! It is a chance for Mozart to really flex his compositional muscles. Of particular note is the variation at 44:31, where Mozart slows down rather. The variation finishing at 46:54 goes heavy on the bass, and is followed by a darker turn in the minor key. An unexpectedly tender episode at 51:36 finds the piano keys lightly brushed, the tempo slowed down dramatically. Finishes at 55:53

Encore

Mozart: Allemande from the Suite in C major, K399 (3 minutes)

57:21 – this short piece, described by the pianist as ‘enigmatic’, is part of a pastiche Mozart wrote, a Suite in the Style of Handel. It is surprisingly dark at times.

Want to hear more?

If more Mozart piano music is what you want, I would point you in the direction of some of the composer’s short and very profound single pieces. Two Rondos do the trick here, with a Fantasia and a late Adagio for good measure. All are played by Bezuidenhout, and included at the end of the Spotify playlist referenced above.

For more concerts click here

Maurizio Pollini plays Schumann and Chopin

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© Cosimo Filippini / DG

Maurizio Pollini at Royal Festival Hall, 18 March 2015.

A solo piano recital at the Royal Festival Hall is always a special event, and if you haven’t tried it yet I thoroughly recommend the experience.

The sense of occasion such an event brings is enhanced as the soloist is hemmed in on all sides by the audience, with some on the stage and in the choir stalls behind – which is where I found myself for my first ever encounter with Maurizio Pollini.

The Italian, now in his seventies, has an illustrious recording and concert-playing career behind him. Two of the composers central to his repertoire are Schumann and Chopin, who formed one half each of this recital.

We heard Schumann first, with the brief but poetic Arabesque. This is a wonderfully romantic piece with a wistful main theme. Pollini was a bit stern with it, leaning more on the two short contrasting sections rather than indulging the main tune.

We moved on to the substantial Kreisleriana, a group of eight fantasy pieces dedicated to Chopin and inspired by the character Kreisler, in the creations of E.T.A. Hoffmann. Here Schumann alternates turbulent minor-key creations with softer, poetic major key ones. In Pollini’s hands the faster numbers threatened to disappear in a whirl of notes, the rhythms occasionally blurred, but there were moments of pure insight in the slower second and fourth pieces especially. The final piece, which to me sounds like a bird flying around in an increasingly irregular circle, was perfectly poised, leaving the audience with a sense of mystery.

For the second half Pollini brought out one of his concert staples, Chopin’s 24 Preludes – written around the same time as Kreisleriana. In just under forty minutes Chopin navigates a piece in each key, cleverly structured so that he effectively follows a ‘circle of fifths’. (In technical terms this means he moves from C major, and its relative key A minor, through G major (and its relative E minor) and so on, until travelling full circle.

This performance felt like one whole piece of 24 sections, brilliantly delivered and suitably dramatic. The centrepiece of the collection, the Raindrop prelude (no.15), epitomised Pollini’s approach by being relatively quick – while the faster preludes became thunderbolts from the blue.

Ending to a hero’s reception, Pollini generously fed us three encores, beginning with the waterfall of notes that is the Etude in C minor, Op.10/12, then moving to the relative calm of the D flat major Nocturne, Op.27/2. Then, as a handsome bonus, we had the Scherzo no.3 in C# minor, with its triumphant, Brahmsian chorale theme. After some nasty words were written about Pollini in the Spectator lately, this was the perfect riposte!

You can hear the music Maurizio Pollini played on a Spotify podcast, available here

The Schubert Ensemble – French piano quartets

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The Schubert Ensemble Milton Court, 11 March 2015.

An evening chamber music concert has the potential to take the sting and stress out of a busy day – as was the case here, with the Schubert Ensemble giving their first recital at the still relatively new Milton Court venue.

As an annex to the Barbican Centre in the City of London the hall is a desirable alternative to its larger cousin – which remains difficult to navigate even after two decades! Milton Court feels fresh and exciting, though it can get a bit claustrophobic around the bar area when the main hall is turning out.
Thankfully the Schubert Ensemble’s music making was airy enough to completely dispel any discomfort, though they had a few problems of their own to contend with in the shape of violinist Simon Blendis, who had fractured his arm.

Blendis, allocated the role of compère, praised his more than able stand-in, Krysia Osostowicz, one of the finest chamber musicians around – and she fitted seamlessly into the group’s music making here. Though unfortunately not credited in the program, William Howard (piano), Osostowicz, Douglas Paterson (viola) and Jane Salmon (cello) were all at the top of their game.

Unfortunately because of the injury we lost the Saint-Saëns Piano Quartet from the program, which was a shame as this not often performed, and the Schubert Ensemble doubtless have the energy and grace from which this work would benefit. Instead of that, however, we had the First Piano Quartet of Fauré – which was not exactly a hardship, for this is a lovely, tuneful work where emotion simmers just below the surface, breaking through in a passionate finale. Led by their superb pianist Howard, the group played with poise and control but clearly felt the music, and the resultant half-hour passed quickly!

After the interval a close musical relation of Fauré, Ernest Chausson, took his chance to shine in the form of a substantial Piano Quartet, a work he completed in 1897. There is an unexpected Eastern flavour to the opening of this piece – of Chinese origin, arguably – and Howard held back a bit on the tempo to give this plenty of air. Douglas Paterson found real depths of emotion in his viola solo from the slow movement, while the third movement waltz swung dolefully.

To begin with we had heard music from the composer after which the Schubert Ensemble are named – a movement for String Trio (violin, viola and cello) from 1816. This musical palette cleanser proved a suitable introduction to the two meatier works on the program.

A Spotify playlist containing the works heard can be accessed below. The Fauré is as recorded by the Schubert Ensemble themselves: