Engegard String Quartet

The Engegard String Quartet came together in the beautiful Lofoten Islands off Norway's north west coast, but are now based in Oslo and are highly influential in current developments in Norway's chamber music scene. With their adventurous approach, often coloured by their sense of their Scandinavian heritage, they are increasingly in demand internationally. Their powerful performance on Wednesday evening certainly showed why The Mozart “Hoffmeister” Quartet characterised their performance throughout the evening. The four were at ease with one another and totally absorbed in their exploration of the contrasting colours in the piece. Arvid Engegard led strongly, but still gave his partners the space to express themselves individually. They clearly enjoyed bringing out the elements of wit and surprise in the piece, but where the pace changed and the mood darkened they brought a dramatic intensity to the transitions. All of this came into play in the final allegro and the audience loved it. In Claude Debussy's Quartet in G minor the interplay of the strong opening with a lighter melody created overall a feeling of powerful forces barely restrained, which continued even through the warmer, more playful second movement and beyond the more reflective viola opening of the third, when Engegard's sweetness of tone enriched the movement's conclusion. The cello came into its own in introducing the final movement which then gathered momentum to a breathtaking climax The recital culminated in Grieg's Quartet in G minor. An opening of enormous energy set up a series of exchanges with more melodic passages. Continuing through the second and third movements, lyrical moments were quickly overtaken, so that even when the melody returned we were always conscious of the underlying tensions. By the final movement the quartet were playing with enormous verve, giving themselves totally to the emotions of the music but with superb control. The character of the piece and the brilliance of the performers made a perfect match. After a performance of such power it seemed almost impertinent to ask for an encore, but the quartet obliged with a lilting evening song from north Norway
Author-David Reid

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Kristi Kapten (Piano)

The second concert of the season featured the pianist Kristi Kapten. The young Estonian who studied in Scotland gave a powerful, chest thumping, bravura performance of works by Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Liszt, Poulenc and Scriabin. Difficult pieces, but her technical mastery of the instrument was incredible. The pure energy with which she attacked the works she played was exhausting for the audience to witness. If you closed your eyes – not that anyone did during this tour de force – you would have thought that there must be at least 2 musicians playing! Kristi herself remained calm, poised and well in control of the music. Her program was “muscular” The Beethoven Sonata in E flat (Les Adieux) was followed by Rachmaninov Preludes 2, 3 and 6 and his Variations on a theme of Corelli. Scriabin’s Sonata number 9 – “the Black Mass Sonata” took us up to the interval. The rapid chords, chromatic scales, octaves, massive leaps of the hands, runs of triplets with little respite - left us all in need of the refreshments provided. Kristi talked us through her program and gave us insight into the pieces. The darkness of the first half of the concert gave way to a lighter feel in the second with a set of variations ( Les Soirees de Nazelle) by Poulenc and finishing with Liszt’s Spanish Rhapsody based on variations on a Spanish folk song and the “Corelli” theme ( a misnomer – actually a Portuguese folk song!) Kristi has played for us before as part of a trio. She would be welcome back anytime. An amazing talent. She received warm and heartfelt applause from an impressed and appreciative audience. She then sent us home with a witty light Poulenc Valse ringing in our ears.
Rennie Urquhart


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Pure Brass

The Pure Brass Quintet are welcomed into prestigious concert halls throughout Britain and abroad, as outstanding performers with a concert repertoire ranging from the renaissance masters, through every period of classical music up to contemporary avant garde. Their performance in the Old Kirk showcased all of these elements, presented with acute sensitivity and brilliant technique. Into this mix they threw a selection of jazz and popular classics to add a dash of different colour and their witty commentaries added to the entertainment value throughout. In the first half the classics predominated and the quintet's good humoured, even irreverent, introductions to a richly varied selection could not mask their virtuosity. The changes of pace and dramatic shifts in Dukas' “Sorcerer's Apprentice” showcased their dexterous fingering, followed by a richly textured exploration of Malcolm Arnold's “Brass Quintet”. The sensitivity of the group's playing of Gabrielli's “Canzonas 2 and 4” was a particular highlight for many before Mahler's “Ulricht,” a high exposure piece with passages of perfectly controlled unison, offered a contrast with the quicksilver fingering of the earlier pieces. The half ended with Bach's “Little Fugue,” hilariously introduced, then beautifully delivered. After the interval a lighter, contemporary mood prevailed, with more than a touch of the festive, as well as some surprises. We heard the Beatles as never before, in “When I'm 64” delivered with jaunty music hall razzmatazz, and provided the car key jingles in Iveson's “Christmas Crackers.” Kamen's “Brass Quintet” contains a reflective mood which we might not have expected from the composer of the “Die Hard” film themes. Following the “12th Street Rag”, played with verve at breakneck pace, Dougie Maclean's “Caledonia” closed the official programme, though the Quintet needed little persuasion to throw in “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” as an encore. Pure Brass demonstrated through the evening that they are pure classical performers of the highest calibre, but also that when they choose to “let their hair down” they can bring out unexpected and fine effects from music of any character. They also showed how versatile brass instruments can be in the hands of gifted performers; it was refreshing, for example, to hear how the tuba can come to the fore in playing extended melodies when the setting allows.


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Navarra String Quartet

Review will appear after the concert


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Orfeo Flute, Harp and Viola Trio

Review will appear after the concert


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Martin-Higham-Milford Trio

Review will appear afer the concert


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AGM