2010 Festival Reviews
16th September Lunchtime Concert
Some dispute how important this festival is: one eminent music magazine had placed it within this month’s top twenty events in Britain, whilst another – less circumspect – also had it in the top twenty – worldwide. This will be difficult to live up – and of course it won’t – if the opening concert is the level, it will exceed it.
This year’s festival is called Take Five Composers: each main concert has a composition from Bach, Mozart, Schumann, Schubert, and the composer in residence John Woolrich, whose work gave this opening evening its name The Kingdom of Dreams.
Last year James Gilchrist proved entrancing in British song, now in lieder he performs to equal effect, his honeyed tenor starting the concert with Bach’s Bist du bei mir, The Festival Ensemble next giving a large-scale performance of Mozart’s first Piano Quartet.
Festival Director Nick Daniel has had eleven pieces written for him by John Woolrich, his searching The Kingdom of Dreams for oboe and piano being based on some Klee paintings.
James Gilchrist brings the protagonist of Schumann’s song cycle Liederkreis vividly to life in front of you, acting out the role. With singing at a superlative level, as was the piano playing of Charles Owen, who had essayed the four contrasting piano styles so far.
But then it got even better: Schubert’s First Piano Trio, another work of ‘heavenly length’. This is all exalted family music making, where after performing musicians join their friends the audience to hear their colleagues play.
Malcolm Warner Leicester Mercury
17th September Lunchtime Concert
‘Journey into Night’ heralded a concert of music with night connections both in name and inference.
Schumann’s Fünf Stücke im Volkston spoke of worry and strife throughout, but the first movement seemed to encapsulate this in a wonderful frustrated energy which immediately captured the attention of the listener. The piece was beautifully performed on cello and piano by David Cohen and Alexander Lonquich.
Two Mozart songs followed, perhaps rarely heard, both songs were powerfully and expressively performed by tenor, James Gilchrist. Das Lied der Trennung (A song of Parting) was sung with a sensitivity and longing, while Abendempfindung an Laura (Evening Thoughts of Laura) conveyed a sorrow with an air of expectancy.
More noted for his songs, Schubert’s Wanderers Nachtlied 2, conveyed a beautiful picture of a night scene in just seven lines.
Perhaps less easy to relate to, John Woolrich’s The Night Will not Draw On is a jarring, modern work which is effective in creating an impression of a situation one would rather not experience. Priya Mitchell, Charles Owen and David Cohen worked hard to pull of this difficult piece.
Bach’s Sonata in A for flute and harpsichord transcribed well to oboe and piano, maintaining a contrast between the two musical parts. Charles Owen provided a flawlessly light piano obbligato, while Nicholas Daniel’s Oboe playing danced with boundless energy in the Vivace and Allegro, then sobbed with emotion in the beautiful Largo dolce to create a magical performance.
Peter Collett Leicester Mercury
Friday 17th September Evening Concert
In a festival renowned for fine performances, I’ve no doubt that the exhilarating account of Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E flat, with which this concert ended, will prove to be a highlight.
How could it be otherwise when every bar pulsated with passion and intensity? The members of the Festival Ensemble - all internationally renowned musicians, played with total conviction, producing an amazingly expressive reading that was both highly dramatic and meltingly lyrical.
Each movement had a compelling sense of spontaneity with flexible speeds and impeccably judged rubato, along with a wide dynamic range and strong characterisation. The final bars were breathtaking and produced a cheering and floor-stamping ovation.
Prior to this we heard the British premiere of A Singing Sky by the festival’s distinguished composer-in-residence, John Woolrich.
This was a fast moving roller coaster of emotions sung to a text from Shakespeare and other sources featuring captive songbirds and the joy and pain of creativity. The jagged rhythms and, at times, poignant sentiments were brilliantly realised by tenor James Gilchrist, whose superb diction ensured that every word was audible, and pianist Charles Owen.
Christian Schwenke’s arrangement of Mozart’s “Gran Partita” Serenade in B flat, K 361 for oboe, violin, viola, cello and piano, which dominated the first half, was lovingly played – each musician revelling in Mozart’s exquisite melodies yet combining to produce a fine, well-matched ensemble. However it has to be said that the arrangement lost something of the mellifluous quality of the original composition for 13 wind instruments.
Neil Crutchley Leicester Mercury
Saturday 18th September Lunchtime Concert
This lunchtime piano-duet concert could be described as a “Schumann sandwich”; his Twelve duets for children small and large being the “filling” between two masterly works by Schubert, The Allegro in A minor, D. 947 and the Fantasie in F minor D.940.
The Schumann duets, although seldom performed, are beautifully crafted, descriptive miniatures of great charm, with titles such as Birthday March, Garden Melody, Intertwined Garlands, At the Fountain, Hide and Seek and Ghost Story. These relatively late pieces capture the innocence, joy and fantasy of childhood with a sure and surprisingly youthful hand.
The performers: Alexander Lonquich and Cristina Barbuti have excellent rapport as befits a long-standing duo partnership. Their affectionate insight into Schumann’s sound world was enchanting; each piece lovingly characterised and exquisitely detailed.
The two Schubert works, both dating from the year of his death (1828) are concise, dramatic and inventive pieces full of strong contrasts and deep emotions. The rarely-heard Allegro, although substantial, is predominantly restless and fiery with a few short moments of repose. From its intense declamatory opening the players had the urgent measure of the piece in pacing, phrasing and dynamic nuance.
The Fantasie is an undisputed masterpiece. Like all late Schubert, its sense of unease, of underlying melancholy and dramatic tension are, at times, almost overwhelming. But there is also a yearning lyrical beauty in its many-faceted single span, and this finely-judged, expressive account combined these varied characteristics to memorable effect.
Neil Crutchley Leicester Mercury
Saturday 18th September Evening Concert
Three only of the Famous Five this evening, Bach and Mozart were given the night off.
The title of the concert was Evening, Night, Winter, and each piece covered aspects of all three. Schumann’s song Abendlied (Evening Song) was played by Nick Daniel and Alexander Lonquich in an effective transcription for oboe and piano.
Next came a repeat of an earlier festival commission: John Woolrich’s Oboe Quintet was superbly played by Priya Mitchell and Ayako Tanaka (violins), Guy Ben-Ziony (viola) and David Cohen (cello), with Nick Daniel, for whom it was composed, again playing the demanding oboe part. This is a work in twenty seven linked sections, often aphoristic, described by the composer as ‘music of ticking clocks, whispering, quiet keening, midnight, stillness and darkness’. Some of the instrumental textures created were exceptional.
Schubert’s great song cycle Winterreise – Winter Journey – sets twenty four songs by the German poet Wilhelm Müller; the protagonist has suffered a failed love affair, and his winter journey offers no consolation, each hope is illusory. This was a stunning performance from tenor James Gilchrist - again singing from memory - and Alexander Lonquich.
One suspects that they will have previously played this together infrequently, if at all, but the characterisation from both performers was outstanding, a beautifully nuanced and engaged reading. After the final song where the traveller meets the only other character, the possibly spectral organ-grinder, the audience was stilled into drained silence before erupting into stamping applause.
Malcolm Warner Leicester Mercury
Sunday 19th September Evening Concert Leicester Cathedral
A musical journey began with a short piece by Mozart; the Adagio for Cor Anglais and String Trio was given a gentle, delicate and soothing performance by the strings, punctuated by the beauty of the reedy Cor Anglais.
Priya Mitchell’s performance of Bach’s Sonata for Solo Violin No.2 in A minor was stunning in its beauty and clarity.
Commissioned for the festival and receiving its world première, John Woolrich’s From the Eastern Roses for Oboe D’Amore and String Quartet had some beautiful moments, particularly shimmering strings and the rhythmic accompaniment to a smooth oboe sound. The fusion of many different playing techniques both jarred and caressed.
The journey moved through an emotional and meditative performance by David Cohen of the Sarabande from Bach’s Suite for Solo Cello No. 3in C to Schumann’s Mondnacht which was given a captivating performance, full of warmth and beauty.
The start of the second half saw the string quartet become a quintet as oboist Nicholas Daniel gave up his seat to cellist Lars Hoefs who joined violinist Ayako Tanaka, Viola player Guy Ben-Ziony and the soloists for Schubert’s String Quintet in C.
A spirited performance, this piece really seemed to captivate the passion of these musicians in a truly gripping rendition. Its meditative passages referenced the mood of the first half while livelier sections were a welcome contrast. A stunning finale, both to the concert and to the Festival weekend.
Peter Collett Leicester Mercury