[CONCERT] Haydn / Swayne / Brahms: Solstice Quartet, West Rd Concert Hall, 16.11.09

[tamaranth]

Solstice Quartet, West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge: Haydn, Swayne, Brahms

Haydn Quartet in D major - serene, measured. The finale's quite dance-like, reminded me of Vivaldi, brisk and birdlike. Rapturous reception!

This was the premiere of Swayne's 'Turning of the Year'. I found myself trying to listen to it programmatically, as if it were an updated version of Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons': I don't know if this was valid. (But if it was, it started with winter and progressed through the seasons -- all very British, windy rainy seasons. Maybe. Actually, I think I picked out quirky buoyant growing things, shimmery heat-haze, an aching romantic phrase or two for autumn ...) Anyway, not really to my taste, but it was beautifully played and Swayne, coming on stage afterwards, looked so perfectly blissfully content with the performance that I couldn't help but share a bit of his joy.

A lot of people left at the interval. Heathens. They missed the best bit.

The Brahms Clarinet Quintet featured David Campbell, who really brought the piece to life: a beautiful warm tone too. I'm a huge fan of Brahms' piano compositions, but haven't (yet) got the hang of most of his other works. I liked this a lot, though, with the passing of phrases between the instruments and the obvious enjoyment of the musicians. This is cheering music -- not exuberant but calmly content.

Comments

[woolymonkey.livejournal.com]

The quartet and the clarinettist were fantastic, weren't they? Shame they had to do all that scritching and ploinketty plucking in the middle.

[shui-long.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean about the Brahms Clarinet Quintet - it might be grossly unfair to call it "comfort music", but it does have an underlying security.
The CD player in my car has six slots; two CDs seem to have a permanent place there, however much the content of the other four slots changes - the Brahms Clarinet Quintet, and the Dvorak Piano Quintet.