Churchlands Concert Hall Series 2017 - Review

Churchlands Concert Hall Series 2017 - Review

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Posted 2017-10-31 by Rosemary Arguefollow

Wed 18 Oct 2017


World class musicians performed alongside promising youngsters at the last of the Churchlands Concert Hall series for 2017 on October 18. The Darlington Ensemble, all of whom are members of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, were joined by the Churchlands Piano Quintet to perform music of the Romantics Saint-Saëns and Dvo& #345 ;ák, with a bit of Bozza and Boccherini thrown in for good measure.

If you missed the 2017 series, there's plenty more in store next year with monthly performances planned for Wednesday evenings between May and October. If you are interested in next year's programme, tickets will be available soon through this page . General information on the upcoming and past concerts, including a video taster is here .

The program, performed in the striking Churchlands Concert Hall, with its excellent acoustics and attractive contemporary architecture, began with Dvo& #345 ;ák's String Quintet No. 2 in G Major for two violins, viola, cello, and double bass. The series resident Darlington Quartet's Semra Lee Smith (violin), Jon Tooby (cello and series artistic director), Zak Rowntree (violin) and Sally Boud (viola) were joined by Joan Wright (double bass) to perform this four-movement work.

Dvo& #345 ;ák's piece is uncommon for its choice of instruments, particularly the inclusion of the double bass which frees up the cello from its usual bass line. It was written in 1875 (and revised in 1888) during a prolific period in Dvo& #345 ;ák's life, where after winning a competition he was able to commit more time to composition. The piece has a serenade-like character and originally contained five movements, one of which the composer removed because he felt it made the work too long.

The first movement, Allegro con fuoco, was bright and lively and in a regular sonata form with two themes. The Scherzo, Allegro vivace, was sharply rhythmic and had echoes of Slavonic folk dance tunes, typical of Dvo& #345 ;ák. The third movement, Poco andante, was slow and lyrical with broadly arching melodies in which the cello held the tune in one section. The finale, Allegro assai, was in rondo form with two themes which varied each time they appeared. This joyful movement ended exuberantly and the work was warmly received by the audience which contained a refreshingly large number of young people.

After a short break, the Churchlands Piano Quintet comprising Churchlands Senior High School Students performed the first movement of a Boccherini Piano Quintet. This lively, joyful piece was well performed by a talented group of students whose ensemble playing was to a high standard.



Next up was the more contemporary Rustiques for Trumpet and Piano by French composer Eugene Bozzo, who is well known for his solo and chamber music. Rustiques was composed for a competition, which it didn't win, but is notable as a technically challenging piece for the trumpet and includes a range of complex fingerings in rapid succession, exploration of the full range with rapid movements from the low to high register and difficult tonguing as well as the use of a mute. Brent Grapes, WASO's Principal Trumpeter, was easily capable of the piece and was expertly accompanied by UWA's Graeme Gilling on the full-sized Fazioli Grand Piano. The piece can be likened to a conversation between the two instruments where the simple piano line was often echoed by the trumpet. The piece hinted at Rimsky-Korsakov's The Flight of the Bumble Bee and Pop Goes the Weasel.

All the WASO musicians came together for the final piece, Saint-Saëns' Septet for trumpet, piano, string quartet and double bass written in 1879/80. Gilling introduced it as a 'peculiar piece', written in Paris when the city was the cultural hub of Europe. At the time, much music-making occurred in small venues such as homes, which meant chamber music was popular. Saint-Saëns had been pestered by the director of the Parisian Chamber Music Society 'La Trompette' to create a work that included the trumpet. The composer resisted for a time, but finally composed this piece with its unusual and ingenious integration of trumpet, string quartet and piano and it quickly became one of his great successes. In addition, just like some of Mendelson's work had been inspired by Bach, Saint-Saëns had just completed editing the collected works of Rameau, whose influence is apparent in this piece's form of a Baroque suite and its seventeenth-century dances.

The piano and strings opened the first movement, Préambule, strongly and established an animated mood before the trumpet came in with a pompous, processional theme. After a softer section, all the instruments came together finishing in full Baroque pomp and ceremony. In the Minuet the trumpet-led and the strings played a more Romantic second subject. The movement's extended trio section was in unison, which is typical of the French style of the time, and played over the ornate piano accompaniment. In the third movement, Intermède, the strings and trumpet played a mysterious tune over a pulsating, rhythmic, melodic piano line and the cello and viola took turns at the playing the tune for a while. This movement had a more sombre tone but was less pompous than the previous ones. The Gavotte et Finale, was an energetic, 'knees-up' treatment of the Baroque dance, featuring the piano over pizzicato strings. The trumpet interjected and was echoed by the other instruments before the piano brought everyone back to the original theme and it accelerated to a joyous end.

The Darlington Ensemble and the Churchlands Piano Quintet played exquisitely throughout the night. This was an opportunity to partake in a truly world-class performance in a local and beautiful venue. During the supper provided afterwards, the audience, which contained several children who behaved as impeccably as the older music-goers, was encouraged to mingle with the musicians which gave this professional performance a welcoming and inclusive feel. I would definitely recommend listeners of classical music to see what is in store for next year.

#music
#greater_perth
#concerts
#classical_music
#churchlands
#shows
#october
!date 18/10/2017 -- 18/10/2017
%wnperth
206447 - 2023-06-16 05:50:08

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