Slices of musical heaven and sparkling programmes of exciting, wide-ranging music are always part of any Ensemble 360 concert. Further sparkle adorns this year’s 9-day Music in the Round Sheffield Chamber Music extravaganza, courtesy of resplendent, international guest musicians, trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth, harpist Ruth Wall, bandoneon exponent JP Jofre, saxophonist Amy Dickson and violinist Pavel Fischer, while the celebrated piano skills of guest curator Kathryn Stott also feature in exhilarating treats.
Launching the festival in style, the opening concert featured works by six composers, from rousing favourites to glorious, lesser known gems. First to appear centre-stage in the intimate, in-the-round setting of the Crucible Playhouse auditorium was – unexpectedly – a cooking pot with a lid. Carried on by pianist Tim Horton, this was accompanied by a stirrer, a dishcloth and a humorous explanation. Martinu (1890-1959) wrote La Revue de Cuisine for a 1927 jazz ballet all about the up and down romance in the lives of…kitchen utensils! Later adding further captivating movements, he created a magnificent blend and interplay of clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, strings and piano in which gloriously engaging music sweeps along through twists and turns of mood, style and instrumental interest. Fanfares, brassy proclamations, loopy, halting piano vamps and rumblings, urgent trumpet trillings, lively woodwind whirlings and, naturally, odd moments of crockery cacophony all play their part, while a smoochy, broody tango and a flamboyant, jazzy charleston delight with melodic, rhythmic fun and beauty. Fortunately, the dish didn’t run off with the spoon so there’s a happy ending. Wonderful stuff!
For Dvorak’s Slavonic dances 1 and 2 of 1886, Kathryn Stott joined Tim Horton at the piano, their four triumphant hands conjuring up a dazzling double dose of dramatic music to delight with soothing, lyrical, wistful calm and thrill with furious, dancing explosions of red-hot haste and passion, full of vibrant, frantic hurry and scurry. Joyous applause came, too, for Rachael Roberts’ mesmerising viola buzzings and the delicious, ghostly pulsings that flew between strings and piano in a heartfelt performance of De Falla’s famous Ritual Fire Dance, while three Kurt Weill songs sang out from the trumpet of barefoot, multi award-winning Norwegian, Tine Thing Helseth, whose playing featured again in the finale septet by Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921).
Saint-Saens’ arm had to be severely twisted, it must be said, to write a septet for the unusual combination of trumpet, string quintet and piano. The result is another piece full of invention. It first premiered in 1880 and, like all tonight’s pieces, provides scope for each player’s virtuosity to shine. At lower ranges trumpet tones blend seamlessly with strings and piano, then soar forth at special moments, with grand moments, too, from the likes of Kathryn Stott’s piano, Gemma Rosefield’s cello and all the rest.
Also showcasing the musicians’ considerable talents is Dixtuor by Jean Francaix (1912-1997) who started composing at the age of six. This, though, is one of his last major works and premiered in 1987. Dixtuor being the Greek god of rhythm and melody, this magnificent work is aptly named. The unusual combination of string quintet and wind quintet is exhilarating, resulting in a work full of wow factor and fabulous treats. Rachael Clegg’s oboe, Juliette Bausor’s flute, Robert Plane’s clarinet, Naomi Atherton’s French horn and Emily Hultman’s magnificent and beautiful bassoon, and all the strings bring musical wonders galore, players embracing every technical demand in conveying whole-
heartedly the soothing charm and lyricism, and the jaunty fun and vigour in this fantastically inventive, melodic work.
A triumphant evening of superb music in a friendly, intimate setting. What could be better?
Eileen Caiger Gray.
