After two years of zoom, it was with keen anticipation that we awaited a live Festival and we were not disappointed when the prospect became reality. True, it was, on paper at least, an event not quite so bountiful as what we had come to expect in normal times, just two concerts with a running time of less than 3 hours. Though anyone with sense would have grown to trust Nicholas Daniel’s judgement, it was slightly unnerving to see that amongst the artists newcomers outnumbered old friends. Also, the programme flagged up three premieres in two of which apparently percussion instruments featured with some prominence. All of this might have been thought troubling to those with rather conservative tastes, a state of mind which might have been accentuated had they heard of the arrival at the museum of what looked like some fearsome Wellsian machine from outer space, which apparently terrified the staff out of their wits.
However, all this was soon put to rights. It turned out that the machine was no more than a structure that allowed Ji Hye Jung, who hails from South Korea and now the USA, to bring together all manner of percussion instruments and one had only to open the first set of programme notes of the pedigree of those new to Leicester to see that once again the city was welcoming a group of musicians of the world class talent which the Festival has come to expect.
And what about the mix of old and new in the works played? Well, all I can say is that I cannot remember a Festival where my ear was more entranced by the sounds which reached it and this was partly down to the often magical noises which issued from the percussion instruments. The possibilities offered by them had clearly inspired the composers to write music of an immediate song like beauty not that often to be found in contemporary music.
In the first concert I was immediately beguiled by Martin Butler’s Remember this Fire for oboe and percussion. The source of this work was apparently a poem by Ezra Pound ,a poet I fear that I rapidly thought life was too short to bother with. However, to judge by the range of scintillating sounds it produced here I could well have been lazily wrong and it clearly inspired Nick Daniel to playing that was even by his standards breathtaking.
Even that was topped, though, by David Bruce’s The Consolation of Rain for Oboe, Cello, Harp and Percussion. The 20 minutes of this work were for me the most memorable of the whole festival in the way they conjured up the various liquidity of water to breathtaking effect through the playing of Sally Pryce harp, Ashok Klouda cello, Ms. Jung percussion and Nicholas Daniel oboe. It was so minute by minute kaleidoscopic that in a way it is invidious to pick out moments from such a performance but I could not but notice a comment by the composer on the beauty of our music director’s tone when playing pianissimo, a feature that was present in spades in this performance.
It was a hard act to follow for the third premiere, Brian Elias ‘ Four Bronte Songs for voice and viola . We had already heard Jess Dandy’s rich contralto voice in a lovely rendering of two Brahms’ Songs for voice, viola and piano, with Iyad Sughayer and Tim Ridout in rich support. Of course, Bronte’s world demands a very different musical approach and that was much in evidence in the dark hues of much of the work which perfectly suited her voice. There were memorable eerie moments which the viola produced but for this listener it was difficult to adjust to music which was quite dramatic in a general way but on a first hearing rather seemed slightly lacking in much really memorable musical detail.
The more central repertoire that was featured in the Festival was equally fine both in content and performance. In the midday concert after the Butler piece came Mozart’s Violin Sonata Op.32, a work which had escaped my attention hitherto. What an omission! This was the composer on top form with all that characteristic air of improvisation in the material moment by moment, so that the listener is in a constant state of surprise. That quality was wonderfully delivered by that good friend of the Festival the pianist Katya Apekeshiva and by a newcomer Fenella Humphreys , clearly a violinist of great talent. Together they clearly delivered the delight and wit of the piece.
It was followed by the Brahms’ Horn Trio Op 40. , another piece full of wonders, a searching slow movement surrounded by three which look forward it seemed to me to the symphonies still to come in their glowing richness of sound and their energy. Here the two players in the Mozart were joined by another new comer to the festival, the horn player Ben Goldscheider. He has been making his mark recently. Only a few weeks before he had played a concerto at the Proms and here he produced a wonderfully ripe sound with the capacity also to meet all the virtuosos demands of the piece. The gallop of the last movement was given by the trio with huge elan and quite rightly brought a great ovation.
One last observation about this performance. I had sat in earlier at the rehearsal of this work and wondered as I listened in an empty hall whether the horn would rather overwhelm the other two instruments in the performance. In fact with bodies in the hall that did not happen and I thought what a nightmare at times it must be for musicians to gauge the acoustic of a particular space.
And so lastly to the other works in the second concert which surrounded the two premieres, both by Mozart. In this concert the pianist was Iyad Sughayer, an artist who during lockdown made a considerable impression. Here in the Fantasia in D minor and finally in the Piano Quartet K493,he fully confirmed that impression with playing of great poise and sparkle. In the latter this was matched by the string players of the Festival ensemble so one had a deeply satisfying finish to a deeply satisfying Festival. We now have what looks to be an intriguing set of Midday concerts to look forward to during the winter. Hope to see you there.
The Diary of a Leicester Concert-goer 