Author: SA Office

2011-12 AGM minutes

The minutes of the first Strings Attached AGM, below, will be proposed for acceptance at the subsequent AGM in 2013

STRINGS ATTACHED

Minutes of the 1st Annual General Meeting held on 19 February 2012 at 1300 at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange

Present:         David Betts, Valerie Betts, John Bosowski, David Botibol, Sandra Botibol, Mary Budleigh, Francis Clark-Lowes, Gwyneth Corum, Michael Corum,  Chris Darwin, Kate Darwin, Rena Feld, Christina Gee, Charles Goldie, Jennifer Goldie, David Harrison, Doreen Izzard, John McKean, Mary McKean (Chair), Christine Moon, Paul Moore, Andrew Polmear, Margaret Polmear, Annie Robinson, Helen Simpson, Ian Stephens, John Stephens, Margaret Stephens, Teresa Stephens, Daphne Wall, Sylvia Weir

Michael Hanna was present as an observer.

 Apologies:      Yoshio Akiyama, Dennis Ashburn, Hilary Ashburn, Helen Clement, Roger Clement, Cynthia Eraut, Michael Eraut, Martin Higgins, John Hird, Jenny Toomey, Martin Toomey

 1          Chair’s welcome

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the other members of the outgoing committee – John Bosowski, Chris Darwin, John McKean, Christine Moon (Hon Treasurer) and Margaret Polmear (Hon Secretary).

2          To adopt the constitution of Strings Attached

The Charity Commission model constitution for small charities (i.e. those with an income of less than £5,000 per annum), which had previously been adopted at a committee meeting in order to expedite registration as a charity for tax purposes, was formally adopted.

Proposed:David Harrison               Seconded:Rena Feld

It was noted that the outcome of the application for charitable status was awaited but that, assuming it was forthcoming, steps would be taken to have donations already made Gift Aided where appropriate. It was pointed out that, in order to take advantage of Gift Aid, care would need to be taken not to offer benefits to members in excess of the amount permitted under HMRC rules.

Paul Moore offered assistance with this and other Gift Aid matters.

 3          To consider the annual report

The report was received.

The Chair drew attention in particular to the vital role played by Andrew Comben, Chief Executive of Brighton Dome and Festival, who was unable to be at the meeting, in facilitating the 2011/12 coffee concert series, and by David Botibol in providing tireless IT support.

4          To receive the audited financial accounts for the year ended 31 December 2011

The audited financial accounts for the year ended 31 December 2011 were received.

5          To agree the annual subscription for 2013

It was agreed that the annual subscription for the year 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2013 should remain at its current rate of £10 (£5 for students).

Proposed:Andrew Polmear          Seconded:Christina Gee

The Chair indicated that negotiations had yet to take place with the Dome regarding any financial deal to be made available to Friends of Strings Attached for the 2012/13 coffee concert series but pointed out that membership is about more than financial deals, being, in addition, an opportunity to shape the organisation’s future, including influence on the future of the coffee concerts and other chamber music events.

It appeared that there had been some confusion about the deal available to Friends of Strings Attached for the 2011/12 coffee concert series and other offers available, such as to Members of Brighton Dome and Festival. It was requested that the various deals be clearly spelled out in future literature.

6          To appoint members of the committee

The Chair reported that all members of the outgoing committee were willing to serve for a further year with the exception of Chris Darwin who was standing down, although he would continue to be responsible for the programme notes for concerts and for the information elements of the Strings Attached website. Chris was warmly thanked for his contribution to date, in particular the wonderful programme notes for the current coffee concert series.

The Chair pointed out that there were three remaining places on the committee and that it would be useful to include a practising musician – either amateur or professional – and a young person. The committee does, however, have powers under the constitution to co-op members to the committee.

7          To reflect on the activity of Strings Attached, in particular the coffee concerts

The Chair introduced this item by reflecting on the results of the recent questionnaire sent to Friends. Thirty-one responses had been received and the main outcomes were as follows:

  • There was a preference for the Corn Exchange as a venue rather than the stage of the Dome Concert Hall.
  • There was a preference for raked seating.
  • Respondees welcomed players talking about the music they were playing, their instruments, etc.
  • 80% of those who responded would like the concerts to include more twentieth century music.
  • There was a slight balance in favour of two pieces being played rather than three.
  • 90% of respondents liked the format of the programme notes for the current coffee concert series.

The following comments were made:

  • It was noted that few of the players to date had talked about the music or instruments and suggested that they be encouraged to do so. It was, however, pointed out that only younger players would have been taught as part of their training how to address an audience.
  • Since the format of the concerts is in the round, players should also be encouraged to move places after each piece played.
  • The repertoire for the current coffee concert series had been deliberately conservative because of its being a new venture. More modern music was likely to be included in the next series.
  • In selecting the repertoire, thought should be given to early as well as more modern music.
  • The after concert drinks was not felt to be entirely successful and it was suggested that an interval, even between just two pieces, would create more of a social occasion.
  • The need to purchase drinks was perhaps one reason for many foregoing the after concert drinks and the idea of seeking a sponsor for a free drink was suggested, though it was recognised that this would take custom away from the Dome.
  • Some felt that the concert venues had been inadequately heated.
  • It was suggested that 75 minutes of playing/talking be asked of players rather than two pieces of music.
  • Some who travelled some distance to attend the coffee concerts felt short-changed when a concert lasted less than an hour, however good the players were.
  • If a concert is less than an hour, some questioned the value for money of the ticket, though it was pointed out that the excellent programme notes are free.
  • Chamber music ranges far more widely than the traditional string quartet and this might be reflected in concerts.
  • We need to do more to encourage younger people to attend, perhaps through the Cavatina scheme.
  • A third of those present preferred reserved seating though it was recognised that reserved seating reduced flexibility in how seats are arranged for each concert.
  • A less safe repertoire is likely to attract more people.
  • The quality of the 2011/12 coffee concerts to date has been excellent.

8          To receive ideas for the future development and activity of Strings Attached

The Chair confirmed that there will be a 2012/13 coffee concert series comprising six concerts rather than the five in 2011/12. One of the concerts is likely to include wind and another piano and the repertoire is likely to be more adventurous than for the current series. There will also be a pre-series evening concert in October 2012. This is expected to feature a young quartet mentored by the President of Strings Attached, Levon Chilingirian. Because of the comedy festival taking place in October, the concert will be on the stage of the Dome Concert Hall.

There was general support for more of the same in 2012/13 with the added suggestion that interaction between performers and Friends of Strings Attached be encouraged.

A vote of thanks to the outgoing committee of Strings Attached was made.

Proposed:Sylvia Weir          Seconded: Andrew Polmear

9          Any other business

It was suggested that the committee consider Twitter and/or Facebook as an additional means of communication. It was felt this was a useful means of networking with unknown people and in addition is what younger generations are used to using.          David Harrison offered help in this matter.

MP/11.03.12

 

The Endellion Quartet – the fourth Strings Attached Dome Coffee Concert 2011-12

Reviewed by Andrew Polmear

What a joy to have the blinds up in the Corn Exchange on Sunday morning, 19th February, and the winter sun streaming through those great south-facing windows. It wasn’t such a joy for the players, the Endellion quartet, because they couldn’t sit in the round without one player being blinded, so they had to adopt a more conventional semi-circle, facing north. I found myself watching their backs or sides; though once they started playing I didn’t mind what I was watching.

The Endellion have been together for 32 years and it shows. Their ensemble was impeccable, their instruments sounded as though made to play together, and each player knew how to come through with a solo at just the right volume. It was especially enjoyable to hear Garfield Jackson’s viola soaring above the others – not easy on a viola – in those moments in the Mendelssohn when the viola has the tune.

They began with Haydn’s Opus 71 No.3, a big bold piece packed with invention in every part. They played it with tremendous gusto and feeling, where a younger quartet might have gone for the more elegant, more exquisite approach that is common today. The Endellion’s interpretation worked because they combined the power with such beautiful phrasing and such intelligent understanding of the work . Chris Darwin’s programme notes captured one such moment of magic: “but then a typical Haydn masterstroke: the cello drops out and the upper strings twitter away very staccato and pianissimo at the tops of their registers like a charm of goldfinches”. The moment came, the upper strings twittered, and it was hard not to laugh with joy at something so wonderful.

Mendelssohn’s quartet Opus 44 No.2 gives the lie to those who maintain that Mendelssohn wrote pretty but superficial music. It’s passionate and complex and I’ve never heard it played better than this. Each player was expressive but never at the expense of the ensemble playing. The fast movements were played really fast but their technique was so sure that they conveyed the hectic excitement of the music without any sense that they were in danger of coming apart. At the end of it the leader, Andrew Watkinson, looked exhausted, with justification; they had put everything they had into their playing. My only regret: they moved too quickly from the Haydn to the Mendelssohn and were in and out of the hall within an hour. Playing only two pieces should have given them time to pause and talk about what the music means to them, or what instruments they are playing on, or even a story about what happened on their way to Brighton that morning. It would have given us time to get over the Haydn and move forward nearly 50 years to the Mendelssohn. And it would have given us more of a feeling for them as people. Performers often make the mistake of thinking they are there just to play the music. In fact they are there to interact with us, the audience, through the music. It’s intimate and personal and hearing their voices and understanding their feelings about a piece are part of that.

 

Strings Attached first AGM – 19 February 2012

The first Annual General Meeting will be held on Sunday 19 February 2012 at 1300 in the Founders’ Room at the Dome Brighton

AGENDA

  1. Chair’s welcome
  2. To adopt the constitution of Strings Attached
    The Committee proposes we use the Charity Commission model constitution for Small Charities (i.e. those with an income of less than £5,000 p.a.)
  3. To consider the Annual Report of the Committee of Strings
  4.  To receive the audited financial accounts for the year ended 31 December 2011
  5. To agree the annual subscription for 2013: it is proposed by the Committee that this should remain at the current level of £10 per Friend of Strings Attached
  6. To appoint members to the Committee
  7. To reflect on the activity of Strings Attached – in particular the Coffee Concerts
  8. To receive ideas for the future development and activity of Strings Attached
  9. Any other business

This agenda, along with papers supporting items 2, 3 and 4, can be seen on the homepage of this website and downloaded.

 

The Elias Quartet – the second Coffee Concert 2011-12

Review by Andrew Polmear (founder member, Strings Attached)

We were back in the Corn Exchange for this concert and it was interesting to compare the setting to the intimacy of the Dome stage where the first concert was held. The Corn Exchange is a great barn of a place, even with the raised seating area curtained off. The players sit on a raised dias in the centre with seven rows of seats around them. It’s intimate but it could never be cosy. Instead the management has gone for drama, with the players lit by white spots while the audience is washed in pale pink: only just enough to read its programmes by. It’s the Mastermind effect and signals that something serious is going on.

Few programmes could be more serious than this: three fugues from Bach’s Art of Fugue followed by Beethoven’s opus 130 ending with the Grosse Fugue.

The Art of Fugue is extraordinarily complex and clever but that does not make it sublime. What does is that Bach paints patterns which interweave through the four parts, sometimes setting the players against each other, sometimes bringing them back together.For some listeners it is enough to absorb the music, as one would look at an abstract painting. For others, the whole complexity of human life is there: the journey of a single voice through life, the joys and the chaos of human relationships, the intimacy of sex (for four), the optimism that ultimately all will be resolved.

Bach opens by stating simply his sparse theme and after the first four notes we knew that the Elias felt this piece deeply. They played the whole piece mezzoforte, every note and every phrase exquisitely shaped. By resisting the temptation to intrude an alien expressiveness they allowed the music to do the work. It’s interesting that they say they arrived at this way of playing Bach not as a policy but because, as they got to know the piece, this is how it seemed to want to be played. By doing that they have arrived at a way of playing that is close to that of specialist baroque players.

Beethoven opus 130 has similarities with the Bach: it plumbs the heights and depths of human experience and does end with a fugue. But the differences are more striking: it’s emotional range is extraordinary, from humour in the ‘dance’ movements to weeping tenderness in the Cavatina. It sometimes has what you could call a tune, but more often the parts pass musical figures backwards and forwards as they shift mood at sometimes breakneck speed. All this is technically very demanding. In the 19th century some renowed players wouldn’t play the Grosse Fugue that Beethoven originally wrote as the final movement. The Elias not only coped with those technical challenges but brought new insights to the piece. They brought out the emotional range by highlighting the shifts between loud and soft. I don’t think I have ever heard a violin played so quietly in a concert hall; the subsequent forte was all the more striking. And all was played, again, with exquisite phrasing and passionate intensity. The quartet is preparing to perform the whole cycle of Beethoven quartets round the country, and will start their Brighton Beethoven concerts in autumn 2013. It will be worth waiting for.