Carducci String Quartet: “Nothing if not adventurous”
THE Carduccis, who are celebrating their 25th anniversary, are nothing if not adventurous.
Although they played Beethoven’s mighty Op 127 at the end of their programme for the British Music Society of York, they opened with Fanny Mendelssohn and Simon Rowland-Jones.
Felix Mendelssohn’s older sister was discouraged from composing even by members of her own family; it was not a “ladylike” activity. She was not to be deterred. But it took until the late 20th century for the quality of her works to receive proper recognition.
Fanny’s String Quartet in E flat, although written in 1834, was first published more than 150 years later, in 1988. Unusually, it opens with an enchanting slow movement of lyrical meanderings, which set the tone for the succeeding Allegretto. The Carduccis made one of their few false moves of the evening by opening this too fast for the fugal activity it contains, which had to be reined back.
A minor-key Romance, which moved briefly into the major, was unexpectedly edgy. The finale, Allegro molto vivace, was best suited to the Carduccis’ mood and enjoyed impeccable ensemble despite its furious tempo.
Simon Rowland-Jones’s Quartet No 7 was written for this group five years ago. It is subtitled Flock Of Knot (a knot is a small shore bird of the sandpiper family, should you be wondering). Its three inter-linked movements chart the sudden arrival, feeding procedures and equally startling departure of birds encountered during a winter stroll on Holkham Beach, Norfolk.
A babel of high-lying birdcalls, in rapid, tightly woven counterpoint, suddenly swoops low. The resultant calm is deceptive, growing ever more intense, although at a much slower pace; after a forceful climax, it fades into a cello solo that leads into the final, lively scherzo, which recalls elements of the opening. As the tessitura rises, it starts to fade into a concluding viola solo.
It can hardly be coincidental that Rowland-Jones is a viola player himself, having been a founder member of the Chilingirian Quartet. Autobiography aside, the piece is beautifully structured and constantly intriguing; it earned the Carduccis’ keenest attention.
We must be forever indebted to Prince Nikolai Golitzïn for commissioning the first three of Beethoven’s five late quartets. The first of these – and the only one to be published during the composer’s lifetime – was Op 127 in E flat major, and was given by the Carduccis as if their lives depended on it.
The opening chordal motif, twice repeated, was bold and rich and led into an Allegro of intoxicating momentum. The second variation in the Adagio was almost jaunty, but elsewhere its atmosphere was reverential, including wonderful dialogue between leader and cello and a pianissimo coda that evoked the former’s sweetest tone.
In the Scherzando, rhythms were incredibly crisp, reaching a peak of nervous electricity in its Presto section. Similarly, accents were supremely resolute in the finale, which reached a spellbinding vision of heavenly bliss in the coda before a dazzling finish. This was Beethoven playing of world class.
Gould Piano Trio: Lucy Gould, Richard Lester and Benjamin Frith, right
NOT many ensembles undertake Tchaikovsky’s only piano trio. Its wide-ranging scope and the difficulties it presents, particularly to a pianist, put it outside many groups’ field of vision.
The Goulds, however, are not easily intimidated. They have recorded it, and preceded it here with Fanny Hensel (née Mendelssohn, Felix’s elder sister) and our own Judith Weir.
Tchaikovsky was pretty cut up by the death of his great friend Nikolai Rubinstein, the pianist who co-founded what became the Moscow Conservatory and also premiered Balakirev’s notorious Islamey.
After a summer of sorrow, he wrote his only piano trio over the Christmas period 1881-2, To The Memory Of A Great Artist. It reflects both the composer’s grief and the personality and prowess of Rubinstein.
The Gould’s success with the piece, played after the interval, depended to a great extent on the supreme control of its pianist, Benjamin Frith. His extremely rapid arpeggios in the opening movement, for example, were tastefully suppressed, so that balance with the strings was never under threat, and he kept his greatest intensity for the big climax after the central Adagio of this huge movement, from which the ensemble subsided gracefully.
The theme and 12 variations of the second movement, some of which are quite short, represent Rubinstein’s mercurial charm and incidents in his life, although Tchaikovsky is not specific about the details. So they require a chameleon-like response from the players. The Goulds were more than equal to the task, flashing between moods as to the manner born.
After the early repetitions of the folksong-style theme – sweetly eloquent in Lucy Gould’s violin, richly autumnal in Richard Lester’s cello – the two strings combined in tasty duet before Frith brilliantly evoked a musical box in Variation 6.
The succeeding waltz was sheer delight, while the Fugue was notable for the clarity of its individual voices. Frith really came into his own in the mazurka, where he evoked Chopin. The five-minute cut authorised by Tchaikovsky made the final variation and coda much more persuasive than if given complete.
Although going hell for leather, the players remained keenly aware of each other’s roles, while the closing funeral march, echoing the very opening of the work, was a tear-jerker. The work had sounded far better than this listener had thought possible. Indeed, I bought the disc.
Fanny Mendelssohn has only in recent years begun to be recognised for the superb composer she was, having languished far too long in her brother’s shadow. Her Piano Trio in D minor was written in 1846, the year before her death, although not published till 1850. So she never heard it, in public at least.
The work opened the evening. At once it was clear that the players were listening and responding to each other in the pleasing Allegro, and there was an equally charming lightness of touch in the gentle Andante. The 3rd movement, Lied, with its piano prologue, reached a surprisingly emphatic climax. In the finale, the Goulds again allowed the music to speak for itself – not as easy as it sounds – and this time its climax was beautifully prepared.
Judith Weir’s Trio – the first of two so far – dates from 1998 and is a beguiling piece. Although not programmatic, it is inspired by locations. The Venice of Schubert’s solo song Gondelfahrer (Barcarole) lies behind its opening, and it was easy to sense the bells of St Mark’s and the lights twinkling on the water, although the gondolier seemed to be making heavy weather of his paddling.
Scurrying strings with piano interjections marked the opening of the scherzo, with fiercer, lower timbres in its more accented trio, the two eventually coming into collision like satellites swerving off course.
African energies had been the inspiration here. Darting melodic snippets, looking for an alliance, resulted from her vision of deserted Hebridean beaches in the finale. This is spacious writing, gloriously uncluttered, and the Goulds revelled in it: music to hear and hear again, especially when played with such love.
Consone Quartet: Partners in the NCEM Young Composers Award 2022
COMPOSERS aged 25 and under are invited to write a new work for string quartet for the NCEM Young Composers Award 2022.
Each year, the award is presented by the National Centre for Early Music, in York, in association with BBC Radio 3. For 2022, they are delighted to welcome the Consone Quartet, the BBC New Generation Artists, as creative partners, as announced on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show on November 21.
Composers are asked to write a new piece – three to four minutes in length – for string quartet, working alongside the Consone Quartet’s Agata Daraškaite, Magdalena Loth-Hill, Elitsa Bogdanova and George Ross, who play ‘period’ instruments using gut strings.
For next year’s award entries, they invite young composers to learn about the musical sound world of one of their favourite composers, Fanny Mendelssohn, a talented pianist who wrote 400 works but never enjoyed the acclaim that brother Felix received. “This is the opportunity to create a new piece which explores this fascinating time in musical history,” they say.
Shortlisted composers will be invited to the Award Day at the NCEM, at St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, when the shortlisted compositions will be presented by the Consone Quartet in a workshop led by composer Professor Christopher Fox. In the evening, the Consone Quartet will perform each of the pieces for a panel of judges.
The two winning pieces, one from each age category (see below), will be premiered by the Consone Quartet at Stour Music Festival on June 26 2022, when the performance will be recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show.
This major national annual award is open to young composers up to the age of 25, resident in the UK, and is divided into two categories: 18 and under and 19 to 25.
NCEM director Delma Tomlin says: “The Young Composers Award is one of the most important dates in the NCEM’s calendar and gives us a vital opportunity to work with the wider community. Last year, we received an astonishing number of applications from all over the UK and we’re sure that enthusiasm to take part will just keep on growing.
NCEM director Delma Tomlin: “Thrilled to be working with the Consone Quartet”
“For 2022, we’re thrilled to be working with the Consone Quartet, who will be guiding the shortlisted composers and performing their pieces. They’ll be joined in York by composer Professor Christopher Fox to host a day of workshops with the shortlisted candidates before the public performance in the evening.
“This year, the compositions will be performed at the prestigious Stour Music Festival and, of course, broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show – a brilliant beginning for any young composer.”
Alan Davey, controller of BBC Radio 3 and classical music, says: “As Covid restrictions lift and we are able to celebrate the return of live music to UK stages, BBC Radio 3 believes it is vital to give appreciation and encouragement to young composers and performers who represent the future of music in this country.
“That is why we are so proud to partner with the National Centre for Early Music’s 2022 Young Composer Award. Each year, it enables us to help audiences at home discover the brightest talents in Early Music practice, broadcasting their works on our Early Music Show.”
Consone Quartet are “thrilled to be joining forces” with the NCEM for the Young Composers Award. “Having competed in the NCEM’s International Young Artists Competition, we appreciate how much these sorts of opportunities can help to kickstart a young musician’s career,” they say. “We cannot wait to hear what the shortlisted composers have written, to work in more detail with them and eventually to perform their works.”
The Young Composers Award is an integral part of the NCEM’s work, with comments from the 2021 awards illustrating the impact and importance of the experience. Witness: “I have gained confidence in myself. Hearing my piece come to life was an incredible experience,” said one. “Great contacts and lots of fun!” said another. “Christopher Fox’s insightful comments, always thinking outside the box,” enthused a third.
The deadline for registration is 12 noon on Friday, February 18 2022; the deadline for submission of scores is 12 noon, Friday, March 18. Shortlisted candidates will be informed by April 8 and will be invited to attend the Award Day in York on May 19.
L’Apothéose in the grounds of the National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, York, after winning the York International Young Artists Competition in 2019. Picture: Jim Poyner
YOUNG ENSEMBLES SOUGHT FOR YORK INTERNATIONAL YOUNG ARTISTS COMPETITION 2022
CALLING young ensembles of the world: the deadline for applications for next year’s York International Young Artists Competition is January 14 2022.
This prestigious longstanding competition for young ensembles will take place on Saturday, July 16 at the National Centre for Early Music as part of next summer’s York Early Music Festival.
The first prize includes a recording contract from Linn Records: a £1,000 prize; opportunities to work with BBC Radio 3 and a concert at the 2023 York Early Music Festival.
Other prizes include: the Friends of York Early Music Festival Prize; the Cambridge Early Music Prize and a prize for The Most Promising Young Artist/s endowed by the EUBO Development Trust.
The competition is open to Early Music ensembles with a minimum of three members; ensembles must have an average age of 33 years or under, with a maximum age of 37 years for individuals.
The ensembles must demonstrate historically informed performance practice and play repertory from any period, spanning the Middle Ages to the 19th century, on period instruments.
Sollazzo Ensemble: “Winning the competition was a turning point in our career”
The competition is recognised as a major international platform for emerging talent in the world of early music. Attracting musicians from all over the globe, it offers a boost to young professional careers with opportunities for performance, recording and broadcasting and international exposure.
NCEM director Delma Tomlin says: “We are so pleased to be staging the 2022 competition, which brings together young musicians of the highest calibre from the UK and all over the world.
“This is one of highlights of the York Early Music Festival and we are always overwhelmed by the superb quality of the performances from these fantastically talented young artists. The competition provides a joyous, optimistic finale to our festival and we are delighted to be able give these rising stars many exciting future opportunities.”
2019 winners L’Apothéose say: “Winning the York competition was an extremely important and prestigious recognition of our career, and taking part was an immensely joyful experience.”
Fellow former winners Sollazzo Ensemble enthuse: “Winning the competition was a turning point in our career, bringing us to the attention of both a wider audience and professionals throughout Europe.”
Details of how to apply can be found at yorkcomp.ncem.co.uk; alternatively, send an email to yorkcomp@ncem.co.uk.
