Concert Review

Concerts in the West

Emma Halnan (flute) and Daniel King Smith (piano)

Bridport, Lyme Regis and Chard

EMMA Halnan's and Daniel King Smith's series of four concerts in Somerset, Dorset and Devon explored a variety of music from the flute and piano repertoire, from the baroque to the present day, with some highly individual, even quirky pieces.

Emma’s playing was often ravishing – rarely did her focus fall below the outstanding. J S Bach’s Sonata in C, which followed Hamilton Harty’s 1915 work In Ireland was stylish with tasteful support from Daniel.

Overall there were a number of tricky piano parts to perform, but he is a musician par excellence with a wealth of experience, including being Emma’s accompanist of choice for several years.

Every work, from Schubert’s unusually demanding Introduction and Variations on a song from Die schöne Müllerin to Mike Mower’s contemporary Latin-jazz Doodle and Flight, was stylish.

But there was precious little time to relax. Only in Lili Boulanger’s Nocturne were we left to dream. In Messiaen’s Le Merle Noir, however, the written score could have been given a stronger and more varied exposure. It was after all a test piece, of considerable difficulty for flautists taking their finals for the award of the Premier Prix on the Paris Conservatoire’s course.

One of the most established flute sonatas of the 20th Century - Sonata for Flute and Piano - is by York Bowen, who in Saint-Saëns’ view was the "most remarkable of the British composers". Its revival is well-justified as the performance in these concerts demonstrated; its modern romantic style suited Emma and, as ever, Daniel’s awareness could not be faulted.

These were Concerts in the West's final concerts of the 2016 season. However, the 2017 series will be commencing in early February with a concert tour featuring pianist Matthew Drinkwater on 2, 3 and 4 February.

ANTHONY PITHER