ONE of the great sonorities in chamber music is the sound of flute, viola and harp in combination:
it's weightless but with real depth. There is potentially an exotic tinge to resultant textures; it can be wonderfully precise yet endlessly atmospheric and evocative. It was Debussy's chosen medium for one of his late Sonatas, and those present at the Trio Verlaine's Queen's Hall performance of it in this year's Edinburgh International Festival might remember the occasion, not least for the opportunity to witness what a harpist does when a string gives way in mid-flight: Heidi Krutzen's lightning-fast digital wizardry in the art of string-replacement was mesmerising. Here is a wonderful new recording of the work, magically played by flautist Marina Piccinini, violist Kim Kashkashian and harpist Sivan Magen, coupled with Takemitsu's evocative masterpiece, And Then I Knew 'Twas Wind and another enthralling study in stasis, Garden Of Joys And Sorrows by Sofia Gubaidulina. What a seductive feast for the ears and the imagination.
Michael Tumelty
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 hereComments are closed on this article