On Thursday, we had another string of three great concerts at the Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound ON. This time, though, the focus was definitely on the core composers of the classic chamber music repertoire.
The noon concert began with a sparkling, energetic reading of Haydn's Piano Trio # 39 in G Major. This is a favourite work at many chamber music venues, including the Stockey Centre, largely because of the high-speed final rondo "a l'Ongarese" which has given the trio its sobriquet of "Gypsy" Trio.
This was followed by a 2-movement violin sonata by Mozart (# 21 in E Minor, K.304) which often moved the violin part into the middle of the harmony while the piano carried the melody -- to fine effect. It's a composing technique that requires special attention by the performers to keep the parts perfectly balanced.
Last came a well-known classic: Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata. Written for a stringed instrument that is almost extinct, this sonata has been transferred to many other instruments, including cello (most often), viola, clarinet, flute, and probably others as well. In this case, Joel Quarrington played the solo part on double bass. It's a fascinating experience, and Quarrington went through some serious gymnastics to catch all of Schubert's rapidly moving solo figurations, which he played with great finesse and skill. But I felt the experiment was overall not a success, simply because of the very low register of the solo instrument. Many lines had to be shifted down an octave from the original, and were so low down that it was difficult to hear them down under the entire piano part.
In the afternoon, we got first a Wind Quintet by Antonin Reicha. This close friend and contemporary of Beethoven invented the wind quintet format (flute/clarinet/oboe/bassoon/horn) to give the wind players a chamber forum equal to those enjoyed by string players. This was the second of a series of 26 such quintets Reicha composed. I've heard several of them on a recording which I thoroughly enjoy, but this particular one was new to me -- and very well worth hearing. I hope we get more of these in future from the Festival Winds.
The second item was a String Quintet by Mozart. The first three movements of this work were light-hearted to the point of being jolly in a Haydnesque way. The solemn slow introduction of the finale threatened to turn the whole work darker, but was quickly succeeded by a rollicking allegro that brought the Quintet to a lively end.
The evening concert began with a lovely Oboe Quartet (oboe plus string trio) played with great style and effect by Jim Mason. This was succeeded by a powerful rarity: a Septet in D Minor by Johann Nepomuk Hummel, for the unusual combination of viola, cello, double bass, piano, bassoon, clarinet and flute (notice there is no violin!). The piano carried much of the weight, not surprising when you know that Hummel was a leading piano virtuoso of his day. Angela Park's flying fingers delivered a truly monumental reading of the piano part which was definitely of concerto proportions. Her performance earned her the ultimate accolade of applause from her colleagues before all turned to acknowledge the applause of the audience. The six other players also had much to contribute, and each got their own highlighted solo moments. The work built to a towering conclusion which all but burst the bounds of chamber music, sounding like it really belonged in a symphony which the composer never got around to writing.
It's easy to see why a Septet like this doesn't get played much, because of the odd instrumentation, but the Festival of the Sound makes a specialty of throwing musicians together with minimal rehearsal time for such rare masterpieces, and the results are often very special indeed. This one was a highlight of this year's Festival, another breathtaking performance that highlighted exactly why the Festival of the Sound is such a Canadian cultural treasure.
After the intermission, we heard Beethoven's well-known Septet in E-Flat Major, Op. 20. This one has appeared on Festival programs before, and is always good to welcome back, like any old friend. It's for the much tamer combination of a string trio with oboe, bassoon, horn, and double bass -- in effect, half of the traditional harmonie wind ensemble so beloved in Germany and Austria combined with the strings. The players all did a beautiful job with this early Beethoven work, in a rather Mozartean manner -- don't expect the heaven-storming ambition of the late Beethoven, but this Septet is still a charmer for all that.
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