2011
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23nd January – The
With enthusiastic applause only
slowing dying away, Lucy Shimidzu of the London Trio told the audience at a
Tilford Bach Society concert at Farnham Castle on 28th January that the
ensemble would give them a “lollipop” (the word Sir Thomas Beecham
used for an encore at the end of his concerts). They then played a piece of
Scott Joplin ragtime and the Tilford Bach Society members went home humming
that and many other tunes they had heard that evening.
The food
analogy seemed appropriate – this had been the musical equivalent of
comfort food, similar to gorging oneself on a wonderful box of chocolates or a
favourite dessert.
Everything
in the repertoire of the London Trio seems to be a classic that is either
familiar or easily followed and enjoyed.
Starting
with Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man’s
Desiring, adapted for a trio from the piano version of Dame Myra Hess, the
audience then heard a Handel Sonata and a Mozart Divertimento.
After the
interval, Elgar’s Salut
d’Amour was followed by the equally famous Massenet Meditation from Thaïs.
Haydn’s Trio in C finished the
main programme and completed a programme that was pure delight to all present.
Everyone
deserves a real treat every so often, and this was a concert that cheered up a
good number of Farnham’s music lovers who all had braved a very cold and
miserable evening to go out.
Richard
Smith (violin), Lucy Shimidzu (piano) and Penelope Sapiro have been together as
a very popular and successful musical trio for many years, and this was their
third visit to TBS. They are accomplished musicians who know what an audience
wants and can deliver a very good concert, and they will almost certainly be
returning.
Ian Sargeant
29 January 2011
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25th
February – Due Corde
Among the
celebrities of eighteenth century
The resulting sound delighted and intrigued the audience at Farnham
Castle as the duo performed works in a wide range of styles by little-known
baroque composers who were all performing ‘super stars’ of their
day. Among the many sonatas
performed was one by the better-known Corelli which included an exquisitely
bright, singing fugue and breathtakingly challenging vivace. Castrucci, who worked with Handel in
The scholarship of these two young musicians and their dedication in
bringing these little-known works to light impressed everyone present, but
above all they provided their audience with an entertaining and varied musical
feast.
Rosemary Wisbey
26 February 2011
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25th March –
Since the founding of the Tilford Bach Society in 1952 a succession of Music
Directors with academic connections means that the society has been privileged
to enjoy performances from some of the most talented music students in the
world. On Friday March 25th,in the Great Hall of Farnham Castle, Adrian
Butterfield brought the Royal College of Music Chamber Orchestra, eleven
singers and instrumentalists who combined in various groups for an evening of
Baroque music.
Telemann’s writing was so prolific he was said to have had an
output of about two items per day. His Quadro
in G minor was thought to be one of his best, and it gave recorder player
Isobel Clarke the chance to shine. Sadly it was her only appearance during the
evening.
Handel’s Trio Sonata Opus 5
featured violinists Anne Marie Christensen and Sophia Anagnostou, with continuo
provided by cellist Richard Phillips and Aidan Phillips at the harpsichord. It
featured arias from some of his opera,s if you could spot them.
Handel’s Cantata Diana
Cacciatrice, Diana the Huntress,
made for a spectacular end to the first half with soprano Louise Alder
in fine voice, occasionally joining in close duet with a natural trumpet played
by Russell Gilmour whose clear and accurate playing gave the piece a real
sparkle. And up in the gallery, using the Great Hall’s acoustic to advantage,
echo soprano Kristi Assaly joined in a reverberative trio with soprano and
trumpet.
Telemann’s Concerto for 4
Violins was just that – four violins, no basso continuo. So instead
of the usual duel between soloists and orchestra the violins weave around each
other in a tight-knit delight. Anne Marie and Sophia were joined by Olga Popova
and Magdalena Loth-Hill.
William Boyce was appointed Master of the King’s Music in 1755, but
after his death his music was largely forgotten and is still not played much
today. Difficult to believe if his Trio
Sonata in A Minor is anything to go by, particularly the last movement.
Played by Olga and
Appropriately for the Tilford Bach Society the last item was Bach’s
cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen landen,
Praise God in all lands. Not much to say really – a stunning soprano
performing with an ace trumpeter, and four violinists, viola, cellist and
harpsichordist all playing out of their socks. Brilliant! One comment heard
from the audience afterwards, “We’re stuck in our seats;
we’re just mesmerised!”
Pete Wisbey
27 March 2011
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15th April – The Mediterranea Trio
Piano, violin and cello make an exciting combination and The Mediterranea
Trio made a welcome second visit to
The choice of music was guaranteed to excite the music lovers –
Schubert’s Piano Trio in E flat
Major was an excellent starter with its demanding changes of tempo and
virtuoso piano playing. The group tackled the entire piece with total
confidence and great finesse. The climactic final movement had pulses racing as
much in the audience as amongst the performers.
Haydn’s “Gypsy”
Piano Trio was also well received with, once again, a very demanding score
that rose to a final movement with a gypsy rondo that had everyone’s
adrenalin flowing.
The final work was a contrast on more than one level. The Argentinian
composer Piazzola’s Four Seasons
may be inspired by Vivaldi’s work with the same name, but the similarity
stops there. A modern work, it both surprised and excited the audience, not
least because the final part Summer
comes to an abrupt halt, unlike the previous pieces where we can see the
terminus of our journey dozens of bars before the end.
This group delivers wonderful music with great confidence. Elenlucia
Pappalardo is an outstanding pianist and she is matched by Markella Vandoros on
the violin and newcomer Michael Wigram on cello.
Ian Sargeant
Saturday, 16 April, 2011
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15th
July – The New London Opera Group
Cast of The Zoo, left to right: Chris Cann,
Kirsty Bennett, Robert Felstead, Paul Guinery (accompanist), Catrine Kirkman
& Graham Rogers
The July summer concert of the Tilford Bach Society on 15 July was
ground-breaking in two respects. It was the first of the summer concerts to be
open to non-members and it was the first TBS concert to include exclusively the
music of Sir Arthur Sullivan. If it had been a glorious summer evening for
people to enjoy their picnic in the grounds of Farnham Castle, that would have
been a hat trick of exceptional circumstances.
However, a little light drizzle outside did not detract from the warm
glow felt by a very large audience inside the castle. The first half was the
performance of a short opera rarely heard – The Zoo. Described as a musical folly in one act, the libretto was
by Bolton Rowe, the pen name of B.C. Stephenson, a dramatist of the Victorian
era.
Sullivan’s music for this piece was as delightful as most of his
other works and the performance by members of The New London Opera Group was
excellent in all respects. Professional singers who can all act with great
confidence produced a totally professional performance. We will not dwell on
the story of the opera, which was as daft as anything W.S. Gilbert produced,
but there were many amusing moments and it was wonderful entertainment.
After the one hour interval for food and wine with many brave members
eating outside, Gilbert & Sullivan aficionados were then well sated in the
second part of the concert with a selection of songs and choruses from various
G&S operas. Some were very well known and others less so. The well trained
operatic voices of the five singers produced some wonderful moments in the
reverberant Great Hall of the castle.
Catrine Kirkman (soprano) delivered a superb The sun whose rays are all ablaze from The Mikado that sent shivers down the spine. A portly Chris Cann
(baritone) delivered two of the patter songs with great effect (I am the very model of a modern
major-general from The Pirates of
Penzance and the Nightmare Song
from Iolanthe).
Robert Felstead is an excellent tenor and his performance of I Shipp’d d’ye see from Ruddigore was a highpoint of the second
part. Ruddigore was also the opera
that includes the duet in which we heard, with much pleasure, the delightful
voices of the other two singers, Kirsty Bennett (mezzo-soprano) and Graham
Rogers (bass-baritone) when they sang There
grew a little flower. The member of the company who worked hardest was Paul
Guinery, whose musical accompaniment was highly accomplished.
The New London Opera Group delivered a memorable evening of entertainment
to a very high standard, both musically and with good dramatic impact. It may
have been a first for this kind of programme at TBS, but will probably not be
the last.
Ian Sargeant
Saturday, 16 July, 2011
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29h
September –
It always gives me great pleasure as chair of the Tilford Bach Society
when so many of our visiting musicians, particularly the younger ones, ask to come
back. When the London Pleyel Trio came to open our Autumn season they were
familiar faces. Violinist Clara Biss came in a quartet several years ago, and
cellist Sheida Davis and pianist Helen Reid were making their third visit.
There’s not much to say about Haydn’s trio in A major.
It’s a magnificent example of the composer’s talent and beautifully
played with great drive and passion, particularly by Clara getting the best
from her 18th century violin.
It’s a rare pleasure to hear contemporary music at the Castle and
especially so when the composer is there to talk about his piece. Dominic
Sewell wrote his trio whilst a composition pupil with Joseph Horovitz who
apparently greeted Dominic on their first meeting with the words “I like
tonal music, do you?” The
trio in one movement is strangely marked moderato because there is much
variation in the tempi. It is written in arch form with references to a number
of composers from Bach to Shostakovich. When he heard the trio, Horovitz damned
it with faint praise saying
“Yes, OK, but don’t burn the rest of your music”. The
TBS audience were much more forthcoming with their praise both for the composer
and the brilliant performance by the Pleyel Trio.
After the interval Helen Reid played Chopin’s nocturne in C sharp
minor which he wrote for and dedicated to his sister to help her play his piano
concertos. It’s marked op.posth because his house was burned down by the
Russians and much of his music was lost. To please a girl friend he wrote out
this nocturne for her, and it was only published after his death.
The evening ended with Chopin’s piano trio in G minor. This is a
powerful work and the first movement was played with such fire and drive that
on the last chord you could feel the audience were desperate to applaud. There
was a certain anger you could feel in the writing; I wonder if he was still mad
at the Russians for burning his house. It was a great evening with three highly
skilled musicians in full flow. That’s what life at the Tilford Bach
Society is all about!
Pete Wisbey
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21st October – Tim Lowe & Stephen Gutman
Promising young musicians who need
performance experience benefit greatly when they get the assistance of The
Countess of Munster Musical Trust. So do music societies such as the Tilford
Bach Society because they get to hear these professional musicians at a lower
cost than might otherwise be the case.
On 21 October at
The opening piece by JS Bach was a Gamba
Sonata that totally suited the audience, particularly because it has echoes
of the 3rd Brandenburg Concerto in the first movement.
Gabriel Fauré’s Sonata
was slightly rhapsodic and gave enormous scope for both performers to display
their particular skills. Tim Lowe delivers wonderfully controlled vibrato in
slow passages and, if you close your eyes, it is often impossible to know where
the bowing is changing.
Stephen Gutman played some challenging virtuoso piano sections with total
ease when they played the Sibelius work Malinconia,
a sad piece with the mournfulness delivered by the cello whilst the piano
ripples away in massive arpeggio runs. The final work was a Chopin sonata that
was also slightly melancholic, this being the mood that is so well interpreted
on a cello.
There was a strong feeling that Tim Lowe is destined for ever greater
success as a chamber musician and general agreement that we will be hearing of
him in coming years.
Ian Sargeant
23 Oct 2011