10:53am Sunday 14th March 2010
By Mike Marsh
ABOVE all else the London Concertante’s passion for music making envelopes whatever piece they are playing and theirs is a fairly eclectic orbit.
Top of the bill was Mendelssohn’s Octet for its joyous melodic writing and imaginative scoring. And however often I hear it I find it difficult to believe he was only 16 years old at the time of composition.
The ensemble here unleashed the opening melody with unbridled expressive freedom yet was fully committed to the subtlety of the quieter regions. The Andante’s interesting chord sequences were splendidly set in contrast to Mendelssohn’s marvellous elfin figurations in the Faustian Scherzo.
Sheer exuberance of the highest quality made the Presto’s lyrical medley of previous material into a ravishing conclusion.
And here their musical diversity let fly an encore; a sparkling Hungarian Polka.
The precocity of youth also enfolded Korngold whose Sextet for strings, composed when he was aged 17, offered a different dialect; one that opened with a soft sensuality, richly textured and embracing some odd-ball harmonies. The lush fabric, rather reminiscent of early Schoenberg, revealed a soothing lyricism in the penultimate movement. The finale’s high-spirited good humour unveiled the interplay and deft filigree heard earlier.
Piazzolla’s tango Oblivion gently ruminated on a lovely melody.
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