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In concert – Anne Queffélec @ Wigmore Hall: Mozart and a French ‘musical garden’

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Anne Queffélec (piano)

Mozart Piano Sonata no.13 in B flat major K333 (1783-4)
Debussy Images Set 1: Reflets dans l’eau (1901-5); Suite Bergamasque: Clair de lune (c1890, rev. 1905)
Dupont Les heures dolentes: Après-midi de Dimanche (1905)
Hahn Le Rossignol éperdu: Hivernale; Le banc songeur (1902-10)
Koechlin Paysages et marines Op.63: Chant de pêcheurs (1915-6)
Schmitt Musiques intimes Book 2 Op.29: Glas (1889-1904)

Wigmore Hall, London
Monday 28 April 2025 (1pm)

by Ben Hogwood picture of Anne Queffélec (c) Jean-Baptiste Millot

The celebrated French pianist Anne Queffélec is elegantly moving through her eighth decade, and her musical inspiration is as fresh as ever. The temptation for this recital may have been to play anniversary composer Ravel, but instead she chose to look beneath the surface, emerging with a captivating sequence of lesser-known French piano gems from the Belle Époque, successfully debuted on CD in 2013 and described by the pianist herself as “a walk in the musical garden à la Française.”

Before the guided tour, we had Mozart at this most inquisitive and chromatic. The Piano Sonata no.13 in B flat major, K.333, was written in transit between Salzburg and Vienna, and the restlessness of travel runs through its syncopation and wandering melodic lines. Queffélec phrased these stylishly, giving a little more emphasis to the left hand in order to bring out Mozart’s imaginative counterpoint. She enjoyed the ornamental flourishes of the first movement, the singing right hand following Mozart’s Andante cantabile marking for the second movement, and the attractive earworm theme of the finale, developed in virtuosic keystrokes while making perfect sense formally.

The sequence of French piano music began with two of Debussy’s best known evocations. An expansive take on the first of Debussy’s Images Book 1, Reflets dans l’eau led directly into an enchanting account Clair de Lune, magically held in suspense and not played too loud at its climactic point, heightening the emotional impact.

The move to the music of the seldom heard and short lived Gabriel Dupont was surprisingly smooth, his evocative Après-midi de Dimanche given as a reverie punctuated by more urgent bells. Hahn’s Hivernale was a mysterious counterpart, its modal tune evoking memories long past that looked far beyond the hall. Le banc songeur floated softly, its watery profile evident in the outwardly rippling piano lines. The music of Charles Koechlin is all too rarely heard these days, yet the brief Le Chant des Pêcheur left a mark, its folksy melody remarkably similar to that heard in the second (Fêtes) of Debussy’s orchestral Nocturnes.

Yet the most striking of these piano pieces was left until last, Florent Schmitt’s Glas including unusual and rather haunting overtones to the ringing of the bells in the right hand. Queffélec’s playing was descriptive and exquisitely balanced in the quieter passages, so much so that the largely restless Wigmore Hall audience was rapt, fully in the moment. Even the persistent hammering of the neighbouring builders, a threat to concert halls London-wide, at last fell silent.

Queffélec had an encore to add to her expertly curated playlist, a French dance by way of Germany and England. Handel’s Minuet in G minor, arranged by Wilhelm Kempff, was appropriately bittersweet and played with rare beauty, completing a memorable hour of music from one of the finest pianists alive today.

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. The Spotify playlist below has collected Anne Queffélec’s available recordings of the repertoire played:

Published post no.2,517 – Tuesday 29 April 2025

In concert – Viktoria Mullova & Alasdair Beatson @ Wigmore Hall: Beethoven & Schubert

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Viktoria Mullova (violin), Alasdair Beatson (fortepiano)

Beethoven Sonata for piano and violin no.6 in A major Op.30/1 (1802)
Beethoven Sonata for piano and violin no.8 in G major Op.30/3 (1802)
Schubert Rondo brillant in B minor D895 (1826)

Wigmore Hall, London
Monday 7 April 2025 (1pm)

by Ben Hogwood

Violinist Viktoria Mullova and pianist Alasdair Beatson have been exploring Beethoven’s works for piano and violin for a while now, and this concert demonstrated the rapport they have built with the music – and the Wigmore Hall audience.

On a bright March day in London the Spring Sonata might have been the most appropriate choice – more of which later – but instead we enjoyed an unsung gem among Beethoven’s works for this combination. This was the Sonata for piano and violin no.6 in A major Op.30/1, the least heard of the trio published as Op.30 and a work brimming with good spirits in this performance.

As our BBC Radio 3 host Andrew McGregor informed us, Alasdair Beatson was playing a fortepiano copy of a Conrad Graf instrument, and it brought a wide range of tonal colour to the hall, with mottled treble and a wonderfully grainy lower register. Beatson and Mullova played as one, finishing each other’s sentences, or joining in unisons which could not be split. Op.30/1 warmed to this treatment, its bursts of energy complemented by tender, charming asides. Mullova’s intonation took a little while to settle, but once secured her phrasing was a delight. The soft centred, sweetly toned second movement was followed by an Allegretto con variazioni finale with terrific energy, driving up to and through a sparkling finish.

The Sonata for piano and violin no.8 in G major Op.30/3 followed – a charming work, especially in a performance such as this. Mullova and Beatson were on the edge, justifying a daringly fast tempo choice for the first movement with tight ensemble and drive, Mullova exaggerating the louder notes to put the listener in mind of the sort of sound Beethoven himself would surely have loved. The bubbly first movement was charming, its confidential asides well worth savouring, the togetherness between the two musicians truly admirable. The Tempo di minuetto explored darker moods, notably its brief passage in the minor key which cast a shadow over the return of the previously sunny first theme. The irrepressible finale enjoyed its humourous ‘wrong’ notes, recalling Haydn’s ‘Bird’ string quartet in their impudence.

It is hard to imagine a better performance of Schubert’s Rondo brillant, with which the concert ended. Here the two performers were like dancers in hold as they explored the composer’s unusual rhythmic terrain, bringing a sense of occasion to the introduction and an attractive sway to the dance rhythms as Schubert’s abundant melodies unfolded. A strong central section set up a series of virtuoso heroics towards the end, falling comfortably under Mullova’s fingers, while Beatson prompted with equal dexterity. The performance was a thrill from start to finish. As an ideal encore we did finally hear from Beethoven’s Spring Sonata – the beautiful second movement Adagio, given a charming lilt from Mullova’s phrasing and Beatson’s flowing accompaniment.

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.2,499 – Wednesday 9 April 2025

Storms in music – Sibelius: Tapiola

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by Ben Hogwood

With the UK braced for the arrival of Storm Éowyn today, it got me thinking of successful portrayals of storms in music.

The first piece that came to mind was Sibelius’s masterpiece Tapiola, a remarkable and vivid orchestral poem written late in his compositional career about Tapio, the spirit of the forest. Its depiction of a storm is like no other.

Listen here, in a particularly incendiary account from the Berliner Philharmoniker and Herbert von Karajan, keeping an ear out for the storm as it begins around the 16:50 mark:

Published post no.2,421 – Friday 24 January 2025

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

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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

An Epiphany…Happy New Year!

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The Adoration of the Magi, by Edward Burne-Jones

‘A moment of sudden and great revelation or realization’.

This is the second Oxford definition for the word ‘epiphany’…which is also a Christian feast day, ‘the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi’.

It’s the ‘sudden realization’ that has descended on Arcana towers, however, as many of us go back to work today. Christmas is done, two weeks that have flown by – and just a heartbeat later we’re thrust wide-eyed into the New Year, back into the strong current of the river that is modern life.

Help is at hand, however. Music is such a reliable ally in times like this, whether it’s the music we know and love or the music we haven’t discovered yet. Both are reasons to look forward to 2025 with anticipation! Arcana will be hoping for several ‘epiphanies’, as we split our loyalties between the old and the new, covering music from the last 500 years or more as we go.

2025 will see the tenth birthday of this resource, believe it or not – on Saturday 1st February. By then we hope to be well in the groove of providing a daily digest of shared musical loves, interviews and concerts. Along the way there will be special focus on Shostakovich, who died 50 years ago this year, and is a favourite composer in these parts. We will also look to enjoy classical music from London, Birmingham and online, electronic music from all corners of the world, and plenty in between.

If you’d like to get in touch with us about any of it, suggest some things for us to listen to, or even write for us, get in touch! You can get me, Ben Hogwood, via e-mail (editor@arcana.fm), over BlueSky (Ben Hogwood or Arcana) or – if you must – on Twitter / X for a little while longer.

Before you go, do listen to this remarkable carol marking Epiphany from British composer Judith Bingham – both haunting and tremendously powerful. Happy New Year!

Published post no.2,403 – Monday 6 January 2025