Köln comes

We were in Cologne just before Christmas so I didn't want to miss the Chamber Philharmonia Cologne when they returned.  They are the ones with the red and black posters all over Manuka and more.  It's a common advertising medium in Europe and I've caught quite a few concerts that way but not so common here.  And I'd seen them before, in the same location, St Christopher's Manuka, ten years back.  I was playing a gig to the time they started but I packed up quickly and dropped off my gear and arrived at interval and caught the second half.  It's a popular style of concert rather than for the cognoscenti and it was packed.  So it's successful.  Six players, flashy and popular pieces, no repeats and surprisingly short, so they managed Vivaldi and Bach and Rossini and Tchaikovsky and Mozart and Paganini and an encore in one concert.  The Paganini was all flash and hot chops, the Bach was his Brandenburg 3 and an aria from St Matthew's Passion and there was another aria given one player was also a singer.  A big voice filling the big space.  The players were 3xviolin, viola/baritone, cello and bass including two ring-ins from Australia.  I remember Kyle from CSO told me he'd played with they on a previous recent tour.  These players were both from Australia including the bass.  I spoke with bassist Madison and she was a student at the con in Melbourne and enjoying the tour and impressed by the performers.  I got in a few words to one of the Germans but he seemed pretty uninterested in my two short visits.  Yeah, it hardly makes me a Cologn-ial.  So I just caught the second set and I enjoyed it well enough and the audience was big and they got a standing ovation and their posters reminded me of Europe.  What's not to like?

Chamber Philharmonia Cologne performed at St Christopher's Catholic Cathedral, Manuka.  They comprised Matthew Rigby, Sergey Didirenko and Sylvia Hurttia (violins), Jaime Roda (viola, baritone) Thomas Grote (cello) and Madison Furlan (bass).

On the touring circuit

There's an industry for popular classical recitals in churches or small halls throughout European tourist cities, Paris, London, Rome, Vienna, Venice, and it's reached Canberra. We've been to a few there. They usually feature popular classics. There's a journeyman musicians' feel to them, like a jazz player at a cafe standards gig. This was the Kammer Philharmonie Köln (Chamber Philharmonic Cologne) playing at St Christopher's. There was a Vivaldi Season (Summer) and a Bach concerto (BWV1042 in E major) from which even I recognised two movements. I liked this one. There was Mozart (Saltzburg Symphony) and Boccherini's Fandango. The ensemble was 3xviolins, viola, cello, bass, guitar/theorbo. The guitar/theorbo surprised me in this context but they performed a few appropriate works. The Boccherini featured guitars as did another Vivaldi guitar concerto in D major RV93. These guys were there to please and they did please a large audience. St Christophers is not small and it was almost full. This was a popular repertoire and perhaps lightweight, but it was entertaining and sometimes showy. Concertmaster Sergey was on his feet for some great flashy violin parts which he did with admirable skills. My favourite was the Tchaikovsky Andante Cantabile with some blaring demisemiquaver passages from Dmitri on cello. Nice. I was amused, too, but the senior of the team, bassist Alexander who leant back on the altar with experienced non-chalance between strong pizzicato and capable German bowing. And what an international crew! The one woman was on violin and perhaps was joining for this tour, Elisabeth from Melbourne. Otherwise the players were from St Petersburg, Cologne, London, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Kazakhstan. Journeyman indeed. Light and entertaining, but well received and I left with a big smile after three encores. That's doing the business. Glad to see that Canberra's now on the touring circuit.

Kammer Philharmonie Köln (Chamber Philharmonic Cologne) was led by Sergey Didorenko (violin) with Adam Solta (guitar, theorbo), Dmitri Gornovsky (cello), Anton Georg Goelle (violin), Elisabeth Cooney (violin), Sam Harding (viola) and Alexander Tschernoussov (bass)