Contact us
  Richmondshire Concerts
  • Home
  • Concerts
  • About
  • Support
  • Info for artists
  • Board
  • Season Tickets
  • Home
  • Concerts
  • About
  • Support
  • Info for artists
  • Board
  • Season Tickets

Trout and back again

22/1/2017

0 Comments

 
Here's a nice review from one of our members, Chris Shaw.

The first concert of 2017 brought an interestingly mixed bag of delights to Richmond.  Think of a piano quintet with double bass, and Schubert’s 'Trout' Quintet will probably spring to mind, but the Frith ensemble showed us that the repertoire goes well beyond that.

We began with Mozart's Piano Quartet No. 1. The calm, relaxed style of the Frith Quartet suited this admirably, with the excellent acoustics of the hall helping to produce a really good balance among the instruments. The  musicians were then joined by the bass player, John Tattersdill, for the rarely heard Vaughan Williams Piano Quintet. I’m sure this must have been a first hearing for most of the audience as even Ben Frith, the pianist, admitted to not knowing it before rehearsals began. The fullness and depth of sound were a real contrast to the Mozart and, being a very early Vaughan Williams work, gave a clear idea of where his music was going to progress to in future years.  

After the interval the five players returned for the 'Trout'; back to real clarity of writing and a great opportunity to hear some beautifully rich sounds from the viola and the bass in particular. Forgive me for saying this, but sometimes Schubert can 'go on a bit' - not so in this performance. With only one repeat missed in the first movement, it was a real delight from beginning to end, the subtle style of the Frith again suiting it admirably. No prima donnas here, just an excellent blending of sound.

Thinking that an encore was out of the question for this combination of instruments, we were proved wrong with the finale of Hummel's Piano Quintet. A real showpiece this, particularly for the piano, with Ben Frith dazzling us with his amazing technique.  A stunning end to an evening of treasures.
Picture
The Frith Quartet, with John Tattersdill (photo by Jane Morris Abson)
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Feel free to comment on any of these posts.

    Archives

    October 2022
    September 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    January 2021
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

    Categories

    All
    Member Offers
    Our Artists
    Reviews
    Trustee Profiles

    If you'd like to know whenever this page is updated, click the link below.

    RSS Feed

Richmondshire Concerts, registered charity 1034173