Reviews

I was gently looking forward to this concert. I know the works, especially the Ravel Quartet, and there was nothing in the programme as challenging as the Britten Quartet from the last concert. And I really like the Heath Quartet: Continue reading Heath Quartet 27th March 2016 – Review by Andrew Polmear

Haydn Opus 54 No 2 in C, Britten No 1 in D major Op 25, Mendelssohn No 2 in A minor Op 13.

Raising the roof’s a lot easier. In a conversation with me only a week before this concert, after playing Walton’s Concerto with Worthing Symphony Orchestra, rising German cellist Leonard Elschenbroich commented: “I love it when composers have the guts to end a concerto quietly.”

Ending in a flourish can boost the ‘clapometer’ Continue reading Elias String Quartet 21st February 2016 – Review by Richard Amey, Worthing Herald

We’ve heard the Elias so often in Brighton that I go to hear them expecting more of the same excellent, if occasionally quirky, playing. And every time I’m astonished by the unexpected. In the past I have enjoyed their silky smooth mellow tone, Continue reading Elias String Quartet 21st February 2016 – Review by Andrew Polmear

It’s no use being a musical purist at a classical wind ensemble event. Wind players like playing whatever they can of the best music around, whichever instrument is was composed for – within common sense and reason. So when they pinch a famous Beethoven Piano Sonata to run off and play with in the street or at the fair, Continue reading Royal College of Music Wind Ensemble 24th January 2016 – Review by Richard Amey, Worthing Herald

Let me get something off my chest straight away. In Strings Attached Newsletter #8 I urged us to approach the hearing of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No.8, arranged for wind ensemble, with an open mind. I was myself looking forward to discovering new things about the work. I have to say that I did not think it was a success. True, there were some lovely lyrical moments in the Adagio, Continue reading Royal College of Music Wind Ensemble 24th January 2016 – Review by Andrew Polmear

Mary McKean, chair of Strings Attached, welcomed the audience and encouraged members to renew their subscriptions. A number of new members were recruited and confirm that the series is now firmly on the Brighton concert calendar.

This return visit by the Bennewitz Quartet comprised a very varied programme. Their first item was a quartet by Dussek, his Opus 60 No 3. The opening Allegro featured strikingly independent writing Continue reading Bennewitz Quartet 20th December 2015 – Review by Guy Richardson and Helen Simpson