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Easterbrook Hall, Dumfries
19 November 2006
Conductor - Geoff Keating
Soloist - Leland Chen (violin) and Sally Pendlebury (cello)
Programme :
Beethoven :
Overture - "Egmont"
Brahms :
Double Concerto for violin and cello in A minor
Fauré :
"Pelléas and Mélisande" incidental music
Haydn :
Symphony No. 103 in E flat "The Drum Roll"
Programme Notes :
Beethoven - Overture Egmont
This was written as incidental music for Goethe's play 'Egmont' in 1810. The sixteenth century hero-prince accompanied Charles V to Algiers in 1541, and subsequently so distinguished himself in battles that he was made governor of Flanders and Artois. Then he sided with the people against Philip's Catholic policies, and was ultimately seized and beheaded at Brussels.
Beethoven's overture, in sonata form, whilst not attempting to outline the plot, perhaps suggests Egmont's virtues - his heroism and strength, as well as a more sensitive, tender character. Like his 5th symphony the piece begins in a minor key but emerges triumphantly into the major in its concluding section.
Brahms - Double Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor
Allegro - Andante - Vivace non troppo - poco meno allegro
This was Brahms' last major orchestral work and he saw it as an answer to two challenges, the one technical and the other very personal. The technical dilemma was how to reconcile the entirely different ranges and tonal weights of the two solo instruments. In chamber music the piano can act as an adaptable go-between, but a full orchestra, including four horns, has a voice of its own, and so Brahms tried to score the work lightly. The personal dilemma was the estrangement between himself and his lifelong friend Joseph Joachim, which had been brought to a head when Brahms sided with Amelie Joachim in the divorce action which the virtuoso violinist was bringing. When Brahms sketched out the concerto he wrote to Joachim to ask him if 'his honoured friend would like news of an artistic nature', and when the violinist replied, Brahms was clearly relieved, and made 'his confession more cheerfully' about the unusual nature of the work he was writing. The rift was healed (on a professional though not really on a personal level) and Joachim and Haussmann, the cellist from the Joachim Quartet, gave the work its first performance in Cologne in October 1887.
In the first four bars the orchestra firmly states the opening of a vigorous first subject, but leaves it incomplete so that the cello can pick up its conclusion with a rising scale marked 'in the manner of recitative'. The violin then announces its presence and an unaccompanied dialogue between the soloists allows each voice to establish its identity. After a fuller version of the assertive opening, and a syncopated bridge passage, the cello offers us the gently rocking, song-like second subject. The two contrasting themes are developed, and while they are repeated the instrumental roles are reversed, the second subject now being transferred to the violin in its upper registers.
A rising fourth on the horns, echoed by the woodwind, opens the slow movement and the soloists in unison offer us a calm, expansive theme whose inversions and decorations form the basis of this contemplative interlude. The finale is in sharp contrast, for without any preliminary flourishes the cellist offers us a staccato, dancing motif with a Hungarian flavour. This is picked up by the violin and replaced by a solemn tune, announced in double-stopping by the cello. The dance tune keeps reappearing, giving the movement a rondo from, and it closes with a vigorous coda in the major key.
Fauré - Pelléas and Mélisande incidental music
Prelude: Quasi adagio - Fileuse: Andantino quasi allegretto - Sicilienne: Allegretto molto moderato - La Mort de Mélisande: Molto adagio
Gabriel Fauré was born in 1845 and started his professional musical career as an organist at the church of Saint-Sauveur in Rennes. In 1870 he went to Paris and continued his career there as an organist and teacher, finally becoming Director of the Paris Conservatoire in 1905. He resigned form this post in 1920 owing to increasing deafness and died in Paris in 1924. Maeterlinck's play, in its evocative mediaeval setting, describes the doomed love of Pelléas and Mélisande, the wife of his half-brother Golaud. Characters inhabit a dream world, moving like innocent children towards their fate, and the plot abounds with symbols: Mélisande's crown at the bottom of the pool, never explained, and the loss of her wedding ring at the moment Golaud falls from his horse and the clock strikes twelve, are examples.
The Prelude is a gentle portrait of Mélisande, who is found weeping at the edge of a pool deep in the forest. The horn suggests the approach of Golaud, who has lost his way during a hunt.
Fileuse (spinner) aptly introduces the third act, where Mélisande is found spinning. The strings sustain the spinning motif below a moving oboe melody.
The Sicilienne is borrowed from music Fauré had written earlier, and introduces the second act, in which Mélisande accidentally drops her husband's ring into the pool.
La Mort de Mélisande introduces the fifth act of the play. Pelléas has been slain by Golaud, and the tragedy is complete when Mélisande dies in childbirth.
Haydn - Symphony no. 103 in E flat The Drum Roll
Adagio - Allegro con spirito - Andante - Menuetto - Allegro con spirito
Haydn wrote the symphony no. 103, the so-called 'Drum Roll', in 1795 during his second visit to London. It was first performed at the King's Theatre on 2nd March at an Opera Concert, part of a series that had replaced the earlier London concerts organised by Salomon. According to custom the symphony opened the second half of the evening in a remarkably mixed programme. Haydn is said to have regarded this as his best symphony; it is forward-looking and includes many striking features, including the first movement's drum roll and adagio theme, recalled towards the end of the movement. The slow movement's theme in C minor is said to be of Balkan folk provenance. The seriousness of the ensuing variations, seemingly prescient of Beethoven, is relieved by glowing C major sections, one of which features the solo violin. The Minuet, though confident and mature, is perhaps the least forward-looking; its steady tempo, humour and rusticity are firmly Classical in style. The Finale, based on a single theme, is a masterpiece of contrapuntal brilliance whose excursions into remote keys again foreshadow the works of the later Viennese masters.
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The following review appeared in the local press.
Sinfonia in tune with capacity audience
A near capacity audience braved wind and rain to hear the Solway Sinfonia perform in the Easterbrook Hall on Sunday evening. The effort was rewarded with a remarkable performance under the baton of conductor Geoff Keating.
The programme started with Beethoven's Egmont Overture, and from the opening chords it was clear that this was an accomplished group of musicians. There were some nervous entries to begin with, perhaps due to the unforgiving acoustics as much as to nerves, but as the orchestra moved from the slow introduction to the allegro it warmed to the task in hand and the sound of the wind and rain battering at the windows gave way to Beethoven's more melodious strains.
For the Brahms Concerto in A minor the orchestra was joined by the soloists Leland Chen, violin, and Sally Pendlebury, cello. There are not many concertos from the romantic era that feature more than one soloist and this was a welcome opportunity to bring together two world class musicians for a performance of Brahms' last major orchestral work. The soloists performed with the brilliant virtuosity and the musicianship that one would expect from players of their stature - the long melodic lines of the slow movement in particular were beautifully executed. But what was refreshing was the enthusiasm with which they played this music - an enthusiasm that infected the orchestra and helped them through the more difficult passages. In places Brahms' score is almost more chamber music than orchestral and the soloists in the orchestra rose to the occasion to provide an assured accompaniment to the solo violin and cello. But this is difficult music and no matter how good the soloists and how good the orchestra, it is the conductor that has to be on his toes to keep everything together.
And how well Geoff Keating did just that. His obvious rapport with both soloists and orchestra, his skill in interpreting the subtleties of the music and his overall control ensured that this was indeed a memorable performance.
In Faure's incidental music to Pelleas and Melisande the orchestra had an opportunity to really shine. The strength of the string section, so ably led by John Phillips, was evident in this music, as was the wealth of talent in the wind section. It would be wrong to single out anyone individual but special mention should be made of the principal flautist who played the well know Sicilienne so beautifully.
And so to the final piece; Haydn's Symphony No. 103. Haydn is said to have regarded this as his best symphony. That may or may not be so but this work certainly gave us some of the best orchestral playing of the evening. There was a clarity and sense of security in the playing that had perhaps been lacking in some of the earlier pieces. The string playing, sometimes light and nimble, at other times sombre and sustained was excellent throughout; the wind playing sparkled, especially in the slow movement where it complimented John Phillips' superb solo violin playing perfectly; and the horns, who had had some problems with balance in the earlier works, produced a performance to be proud of.
Of course, there were some flaws during the evening - a few missed entries, some cracked notes here and there and some intonation problems. But the audience had to remember that it was listening not to a professional orchestra but to a group of amateur musicians who had come together for four rehearsals and a concert.
And finally, what a delight it was to see Sally Pendlebury sitting at the back of the cello section for the second half of the concert, obviously loving every moment. What better reason can there be for 50 musicians to get together than their common love of making music? Bravo!