Music
Schubert Ensemble
St John’s Kirk, Perth
Keith Bruce
four stars
THERE are surely few moments in the composer’s catalogue that sound more “Mozartian” than the conversation between piano and strings in the final movement of his Quartet No 2 of 1796. The ideal balance achieved by the experienced hands of the Schubert Ensemble in the fine acoustic of St John’s was instinctive, as the group begins the Scottish leg of its final tour after 35 years, as guests of Perth Chamber Music, which is marking its 70th anniversary.
While an “indie” rock group in the same situation would be playing its sole hit album, not only can you believe that this ensemble is genuinely saying goodbye, there is also not a note of Schubert in their recital. Instead we hear their latest (49th) commission, Zustande by Charlotte Bray, coincidentally just days before the BBC SSO opens a Hear and Now programme at Glasgow City Halls with the same composer. Inspired by the sound and shape of ice and glaciers in Greenland, its central section begins with a lot of interesting work for Jane Salmon’s cello, while the shorter outer movements are also instructive about the relationship between keyboard and strings; while the first seemed to show the comparative limitations of the piano in her programmatic work, the last resolved that problem in being less “sonic” and more full-bloodedly musical.
Completing the programme (barring an encore of a Strauss song) was a group favourite, according to pianist William Howard, in the Opus 30 Piano Quartet of Ernest Chausson, recently recorded on a disc of French music for Chandos. Here is a piece that is scrupulously democratic in the sharing of its riches amongst the players, and compelling, as Howard also observed, in a complex, elusive structure that resists obvious melodic resolution. Its second movement is labelled “Tres calme” but has some turbulence beneath the surface, and there was real listener satisfaction in the delayed gratification of the finale’s bold conclusion – a sensation that might be applied to all of this fond farewell.
Schubert Ensemble are also in Biggar, Milngavie, Stirling, Pollok House in Glasgow and Aberdeen (shubertensemble.com).
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here