Review: The Nash Ensemble at Perth Concert Hall

Jun 3 2008 by Peter Rutterford

THE Nash Ensemble of London, this year’s Artists in Residence at Perth Festival, presented the first of their three concerts in the Concert Hall with a morning Coffee Concert that demonstrated their wonderful musicianship, versatility and diversity.

Beginning with Rossini’s popular Sonata No 1 in G major for strings, the finesse and refined playing of the ensemble was immediately apparent. Rossini’s six sonatas were composed when he was just 12 years old and these delightful pieces demonstrate his precocious talent plus the humour that was to develop in his comic operas.

The three short movements of the first Sonata have an easygoing style and are immediately appealing. The two violins, played by Marianne Thorsen and Malin Broman, bought out the delightful interplay between the melodic lines, whilst Paul Watkins’s lovely cello playing had a mainly passive role, taking the place of the viola, and Duncan McTier’s double bass ensured a firm foundation in the often-humorous bass lines.

The first movement contained some lovely themes with each instrument taking turns to lead and the central slow movement oozed with melody, whilst the final movement demonstrated the virtuosity required by the players, even in these early works. The delightful Sonata was over far to quickly and it is a shame this was the only one of the six on the menu for the three concerts.

The music of the Belfast-born composer Howard Ferguson is still rarely heard in the concert hall, so it was a bonus to hear his fine Octet for winds and strings. The opening pastoral theme presented by the clarinet immediately sets the piece in the nostalgic past of bygone days. Its peace does not last however and the movement moves to a more agitated and uneasy mood before returning to the pathos of the opening. The Nash players were excellent in their attack and precision of playing and brought out the detail and depth of this troubled movement.

The second movement continued the agitated mood with a biting Scherzo that was bustling with energy, producing excellent playing from the ensemble, particularly Laurence Davies, horn and Ursula Leveaux, bassoon. The slower Andantino returned the music to the calm of the first movement and gave the cello an opportunity to play some delightful themes, whilst the epilogue had wonderful interplay between the two violins and the splendid viola playing of Lawrence Power.

The final Rondo had real impetus with the repeated dotted rhythm, played by the strings, giving great movement and the winds consolidating the melodies, before the clarinet returned the work to its pastoral opening and its final flourish. A super performance of a work that deserves to be heard more.

Weber’s Quintet in B flat for Clarinet and Strings was the final work, with the Nash’s superb clarinettist Richard Hosford, giving a sparkling performance as soloist that showed great quality, style and virtuosity. The Quintet has much in common with Weber’s other works for clarinet, particularly the Concertino and the two Clarinet Concertos and requires almost the same amount of technique and stamina from the soloist. Hosford played with relish and the Ensemble clearly enjoyed their individual parts. The work gives the soloist an opportunity to show his mettle throughout, in particular the lovely slow Fantasia movement, which is a paean to the clarinet and has definite references to Weber’s operatic arias. The four movements were played with polish and style and brought to an end a super first concert by the Festival’s Artists in Residence.

Editor’s note: Peter Rutterford is a long-standing music critic for the Perthshire Advertiser. He is also a member of the Perth Festival committee.