Poulenc: Elegy for horn and piano 'In memory of Dennis Brain'

Mozart: String Duo no 1 in G major K423 for violin and viola

Mozart: Quintet in Eb major KV 407 for horn, violin, 2 violas and cello

Brahms: Piano Quartet in A major op 26

The Independent Theatre in North Sydney is an ideal venue for chamber group performances. The sight lines are excellent and the dimensions of the theatre faithfully project the sound and a full theatre of some 250 people can still feel cosy and comfortable.
 

The opening of the Poulenc produces bundles of disjointed intervals which are developed throughout the movement in each instrument. The contrapuntal writing allows the piano and horn to maintain a vigorous sense of competition, sometimes leading to some very beautiful lyrical moments, sometimes very aggressive passages.

In all of this, the ensemble was carefully conveyed, the mood controlled. And it was obvious that Poulenc knew about the characteristic and capability of the horn by the way in which he exploited the full range of the instrument in the writing, something that was easily reflected by the playing with much adherence to the composer’s intentions.

The Mozart duo is a charming work and there was much to commend in the way that the players achieved balance, delicacy, agility and excitement in the playing. The writing allows each instrument in turn to feature as lead and accompaniment and there was always sensitivity in what was produced.  There was some reservation about a tempo that needed to be picked up periodically or was that evidence of musical licence and style?

The Mozart quintet felt like a work for horn with accompaniment and reveals references similar to those in the four horn concertos. The playing overall was careful and didn’t always show sufficient assurance.

The slow movement revealed some lapses in ensemble and whilst there was some very elegant controlled playing from the horn especially in the quasi cadenza passages, there were some minor shortcomings in articulation.

The Brahms quartet is a gigantic work full of varying moods, symphonic in character and took forty eight minutes to play. This is Brahms at his most creative best. The energy necessary to reflect the intensity in the work was immediately apparent and the players showed an enthusiastic response to the work. Any reservation about confidence now disappeared with each performer making a sensitive contribution with precision to the performance.  

Each movement was exploited for its mood and character – the adagio produced some most musical shaping and the last movement showed all that convincing energy.

The performance was greeted by an enthusiastic audience and was an example of another successful rewarding way of spending a Sunday afternoon. – Emyr Evans