The International East Anglian Summer Music Festival 2009
by Vicky Anfilogoff

July!  The part of the Summer that I look forward to each year but most especially this year, the 31st year of this Festival, as I was unable to attend last year.  Yet again Miranda Reckitt and Tom McIntosh throw open the doors of their home, garden and small concert hall and invite us to share three weeks of excellent music, food and conviviality in this delightfully intimate performing space.  Tom McIntosh, as ever, was offering a wonderfully varied programme of music with some well known and favourite pieces along with other, less often played pieces which I always look forward to with great anticipation as my musical knowledge and appreciation extends year on year.

The programme opened with the first of the popular Wednesday evening series which was, as usual, a mixture of traditional, lighter songs sung as well as the occasional operatic aria sung by Judith Buckle, mezzo-soprano, Peter Grevatt, baritone, both in excellent voice and firm favourites at The Old School.  Brian Ralph, an actor of many years experience, brought his wonderful repertoire of voices to give life to the readings and poetry and, the accomplished Robyn Sevastos, in her third season here, was both soloist and accompanist on piano.  The theme this year was ‘Discovery’ with a different ‘topic’ each week and this evening it was ‘Railways’ realised through a very well judged mixture of music and words and thoroughly enjoyed by the large audience.   The middle week concentrated on ‘The Sea’ though Judith was unable to appear due to sudden illness but the evening was, nonetheless, as polished as ever and enthusiastically received and appreciated by a full house.  The final week was ‘London Town’ and was, again, an excellently researched, balanced and presented evening which finished – as ever – with shouts of delight, much clapping and several curtain calls.   These evenings represent the lighter side of the Festival but they have become a much loved, thoroughly enjoyed and capacity audience supported feature of Summer Music with four very talented people who clearly have a great rapport and who present very polished entertainment with a great sense of fun and evident enjoyment.   To finish the evening one can pre-order supper and enjoy reliving the evening over some food, a glass of wine and in good company.

The first Saturday evening concert opened with Johan Nepomuk Hummel’s Piano Quintet in E flat minor, Op. 87 played by the Artsanglia Quintet; Andrew Laing, violin, John Rayson, viola, Nicholas Allen, cello, Roy Chilton, double bass and Tom McIntosh, piano.   This delightful piece opens very smoothly and harmoniously, deep and mellow, with a quite martial air initially developing into a much sunnier mood before moving into the second movement that is quite animated and jolly.   The largo is beautiful, reflective and moving before this quite short piece concludes with a very bright, quick allegro agitato.   The players work really well together producing a quite lovely sound.

Following this was Franz Joseph Haydn’s Baryton Trio No.96 in B minor  played quite beautifully by Andrew Laing, John Rayson and Nicholas Allen.   There is a lovely, though quite restrained, almost austere, opening [it put me in mind of ‘Winter’ from the Four Seasons] gradually becoming bright, lively and highly melodic with the line being passed and re-passed between instruments, building and layering to become highly textured.  A short final section  alternates between quiet simplicity and, almost, courtly dance.  This was a lovely and thoroughly enjoyable piece of music.  New to me and thoroughly enjoyable.

During the interval the weather was sufficiently balmy to enable the audience to enjoy a glass of wind and quiet chat in the Old School’s garden that, as ever, looked beautiful.   The final work of the evening was Franz Schubert’s Piano Quintet in A major, Trout, Op.114.   This well loved piece must be one of Schubert’s best known quintets and there is no particular need, therefore, for a comment from save to say that there was an air of pleasure and anticipation in the audience as the piece started and  enthusiastic applause when it finished

The Coffee Morning concerts take a somewhat simpler form with coffee and biscuits are served for half an hour beforehand and no interval.  This morning featured John Rayson, a very accomplished viola player and Tom McIntosh (who, by now, should need no introduction) on piano and started with Schumann’s Marchenbilder, Op.113 that, essentially, comprises four character pieces.   It opens with a slightly sombre but, nonetheless, lyrical movement with the second being, initially, slightly martial in tone which changes to dance along more lightly in the middle section before returning to the martial theme.   The third movement called for some very fine bowing from John Rayson and had an urgent, agitated feel to it.   The final part moves into a slightly melancholic mood, reflective and, in parts, almost a lullaby quality to it.

The following piece was Johannes Brahms’ Sonata in E flat major No.2, Op.120 is, on the whole, a very romantic piece though I thought that parts of the second movement sounded quite modern in tone.   A lovely piece.

We were then treated to Astor Piazzola’s Le Grand Tango written in 1990.   Although a modern composition it nonetheless contains a very definite ‘feel’ of the dance with its sensuousness, languorousness and fiery passion. An exciting piece indeed and another CD to buy to listen to it again!

Lastly came John Rayson’s Fantaisie for viola and piano built around Kreutzer’s Study No.1 for students of viola and violin as an exercise in sostenuto.   John has added a piano part with the aim of providing a speculative harmonic framework to make the piece more enjoyable in practise and to create a repertoire work in its own right.   Because it is ‘sostenuto’ the viola part sounds reflective, even sonorous, in parts whilst the piano is full of movement to underpin this, subtly altering the mood throughout.   I thought that it was wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable and do hope that John continues to add to more of Kreutzer’s Studies.   A super morning containing a great range of music and, as is Tom McIntosh’s way the opportunity to discover lesser known gems in this lovely, intimate performance space.

The first piece in the middle weekend’s evening programme featured Andrew Laing, violin, John Rayson, viola, Nicholas Allen, cello and, in the piano concerti, Tom McIntosh, piano and was Haydn’s Piano Concerto No.7 in F mjor, H.XVIII:7 which opens with a quite bright and gay movement with the theme passed between the piano and each string instrument. Delightful, elegant writing that is so typical of Haydn.   The andante provided a complete change of mood being reflective and quite stately albeit brief and the concerto finishes by scurrying and dancing along in a very satisfying concluding movement.

The first of the two quartets was Ralph Vaughan Williams String Quartet No.1 in G minor opens tranquilly and quite subdued with a lovely, wistful theme with a wonderful layering of sound producing a rich and satisfying texture gradually building to a big rounded climax before it subsides once more to an understated, reflective finish.  The tempo di minuetto essentially continues the mood previously established but lightens it slightly with and has a delightful motif passing from one instrument to another once more building and diminishing in turn to, almost playfully, alter the mood.  The andante is contemplative, lyrical and, ultimately, peaceful and the final movement has echoes of English country music and folk dance;  playful with a brief, sombre middle section but finishing with great vigour building to an exciting climax.   There is so much in this that is loved and typical of Vaughan Williams’ writing – a performance of great virtuosity much enjoyed by audience and players alike.

Following the interval was Haydn’s Piano Concerto No.9 in G major H.XVIII:9.
This opened with a sparkling allegro with the dialogue passing from the piano to the strings and back again constantly developing the moving the theme forward.   The adagio is heart stoppingly beautiful; poignant and  romantic, almost overwhelming in its feelings of love and loss, emotionally  a very powerful movement indeed.   The final movement alters the mood completely having a bright, happy development with much interplay between the piano and strings as the theme is stated, restated and developed continuously.  A beautifully played piece and another ‘find’ to add to this years collection.

The evening closed with Edward Elgar’s String Quartet in E minor, Op.83.  The opening movement had great sweeps of movement, opening quietly, subtly, developing to a dramatic climax only to drop back to an almost ghostly transparency then building once more before ending very simply and quietly.   The mood of the second movement had a wistful melodic line in the violin emphasised to great effect with a counterpoint by the viola and cello before, almost, unwinding itself to an understated finish.   The final movement has great energy and excitement almost to the point of agitation in parts but with a rich, beautifully moderated sound achieved and ending quite triumphantly.

For this final evening’s concert there was, once again, a very full house with the same line up of artistes as for the morning’s concert that held promise of a wonderful evening of music ahead.   The programme commenced with Mikhail Glinka’s Trio Pathetique in D minor that had been written whilst he was on an extended stay in Italy some time before he conceived the idea of writing “in a truly Russian manner” and it therefore has very little Russian feel to it.   Again, a wonderfully romantic opening movement continuing into a  light hearted and vivacious mood in the second movement.   The largo is more sonorous and soulful with the violin and cello each making their own statement before the piano takes it up repeating it and embellishing it before all three instruments come together to finish.   The final allegro con spirito moves the whole piece forward to a more upbeat mood with some wonderful harmonies developed between the three instruments.

There followed Robert Schumann’s Piano Trio No.3 in G minor, Op. 110.  This opens with sweeping, dramatic and quite dark statements by the violin then cello supported by the piano and building in intensity  to a beautiful, forceful harmonic climax before finishing quietly and, to my ear it seemed to sound quite modern.  The next movement is more sombre and introspective, quieter and calmer after the tempestuousness of the previous movement but with a short, agitated middle section – almost an ‘argument’ between the violin and cello – before returning to the opening statement on the piano taken up by the strings to finish quietly.   The scherzo opens with falling cadences, quite dark, before becoming rather more lyrical and these two moods continue to alternate throughout.   The final movement is quite jolly, indeed it is marked ‘humorous’ by Schumann and lifted the mood at the end of this long and interesting piece. 

The final piece was Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Trio in E minor No.2, Op.67.  This was begun in 1943 and finished early in 1944 and is dedicated to his very close friend, Ivan Sollertinsky.   It is an intense, thought provoking piece and was, for me, the jewel in the crown of this year’s Festival.   It opens very quietly, almost mysteriously, ethereally with the cello before being joined, quietly, by the violin and underpinned by the piano; elegiac, haunting and sorrowful.   The theme is then taken by the piano with quietly staccato strings harmonising under and all building in emphasis and complexity.  The largo opens with a series of big piano chords, joined by the violin with a sorrowful melodic line, taken up by the cello.  There is a distinct feeling of requiem in this movement and clear Jewish cadences.   It is incredibly poignant with sorrow, despair and anguish all plain to hear.  The final movement continues the mood building in intensity and complexity before dying back to a somewhat simpler conclusion.   Throughout there is a simple little Jewish folk tune motif introduced by the instruments time and again in different tempi and pitch that runs like a thread throughout the piece and seems to me to stand for the quiet defiance, the immovability  of the Jewish people to Hitler.
The buzz when this piece finished was incredible as people shared their thoughts on it, almost needed to share them.   I just had to go back to the repeat performance on Sunday afternoon to hear it again and it was just as affecting with so much still to discover.  

Vicky Anfilogoff