Esterhazy at Albert

It was the dynamics that most impressed me about Australian Haydn Ensemble this time. I've seen them as a smaller group, perhaps 6 players, and once or twice in a larger format. This was probably the largest I've seen: 22 players. But I know how difficult it is to concentrate on dynamics when you are struggling to catch the notes but it's essential and it worked gloriously here. Detailed, gentility, gentleness, the quietest of passages, the frequent glances that make all this happen. I could see this, up close. There's no conductor, of course, so those glances go to the concertmaster, in this case Canadian Marc Destrubé, or to the co-director, Eric Helyard on harpsichord for the night. The other thing I melted over was Jacqueline's bass lines, rapid and clear as they were demanded, disturbingly easily played. But I'll give you that that's a concern of a fellow bassist. Perhaps not just me. Bass is a strangely popular instrument and I noticed several people eyeing off Jacqueline's aged bass in the breaks. But the fast lines in the final presto movement of Haydn's Le soir, Symphony no.9, were stunners and she played them out with aplomb. It wasn't just bass, of course. Bassoon was wonderfully expressive at times, even once in a duo with bass; the baroque horns were mightily satisfying, so much more than modern brass, if only for this outing. Marc Destrubé's subtle and delicate phrasing was a telling lead. And the flute of Melissa Farrow for her parts. All delicate, detailed, precise, understanding, dynamic. I loved this concert: one of the best of the AHE. The period tones right for this music; the place right, being Albert Hall, our oddly monarchical place that hosts carpet sales and mineral displays and any fine music that warms to the rich reverb. So, what did they play? A string of pieces from the orchestra of the Esterhazy Palace. I'm told they were originally played with a smaller ensemble but expanded here. All Haydn: Symphonies 6,7,8 (Le Matin, Le Midi, Le Soir) and the Harpsichord concerto in D major featuring Erin Helyard. The harpsichord was a somewhat lost in this space, despite Erin's always vibrant and immediate performance (at least from where I was sitting, although not in the recording I made form a more central location). All on period instruments, of course: gut and valve-free horns and different bows, all soft and tender in tone. This outfit will be recording soon, I think for ABC. Expect a well developed and nicely understood performance. These are mates of mine but also greatly admired.

Australian Haydn Ensemble performed Haydn at the Albert Hall. Performers were Erin Helyard (harpsichord, co-director), Marc Destrubé (violin, co-director), Skye Mcintosh (artistic director, violin), Matthew Greco, Simone Slattery, Anne McMichael, Catherine Shugg, Raphael Font (violins), Shelley Sorenson, John Ma, James Eccles (violas), Daniel Yeadon, Anton Baba, Anthony Albrecht (cellos), Jacqueline Dossor (bass), Melissa Farrow, Mikaela Oberg (flutes), Amy Power, Julia Bauer (oboes), Simon Rickard (bassoon), Darryl Poulson, Doree Dixon (horns).

So much learnt

I missed the Australian Haydn Ensemble but not the associated masterclass. The two guests with the AHE were Marc Destrubé (violin, Canada) and Neal Peres da Costa (keyboards, Sydney) and they ran the masterclass. This session was open to the public and I can only suggest that any interested listener also attend. This was not just for the performers. This is exposure to advanced musical thinking and I learnt tons. Students from the School of Music played five pieces over 2 hours and received comments and guidance from Marc and Neal. Nothing negative; nothing on occasional mistakes. This was mostly on interpretation and improvements were evident even after just a few minutes of guidance from a trained ear. Here are a string of quotes to give you the idea. [When practicing] "don't always start at the start" [so you learn the whole piece]. "In Mozart's time they played only new music" [so recognise the shock of the new in established music]. "Mozart was primarily an opera composer" [so think of the characters, the contrasts, the speech]. Read performance treatises (CPE Bach, Daniel Torke?) on the meaning of the slur and more. "Phrasing marks duplicate speech". Start with the traditional approach of first beat as dominant if there's no other notation. Your Steinway is "much stronger than anything Mozart had", "think of lightening up", use "lightness of touch" [for Mozart's music]. A repeated note probably means it's more insistent. "Trills serve three functions: add tension, remove tension, or decorative". [In the duet,] the piano is the harmonic instrument: "hear ... the most wonderful blackboard" [did I hear this right?]. When phrasing, "keep tension in the silence". "Be aware of function [contours]": in a duet, who's leading, who's following and when. "Read what people say of G major and any key". Practice playing a lighter sound; strength will come in performance. In the Romantic period, pianists almost always played arpeggiations [in place of chords?]; it's more vibrant. Crescendo with slight acceleration gives energy. "Use imagination to give shape". "Pace the energy" [leave have room to increase volume, etc]. The Romantic period used "lots of markings"; ask why. Scarlatti sonatas are "often from some form of dance"; his chords are "fantastic ... make sure we hear them". Music may be metronomic but still needs "energising". "Early music tries to make difficult [passages] sound difficult; new music tries to make difficult sound easy". "Often, if technically we need time, the music also needs time". "The bass line is the driving force" and "look to the rhythm of the bass line". "They didn't write slurs in the [Scarlatti's] time, because players would have played this way". "There are only four tools of expression in music". [I struggled to catch the four tools. I think they were: weight, articulation, colour, speed]. "Dance is about going and stopping". There was more, especially in the context of each piece. My main takeaway was think of the form and how to play each note or phrase. Also, think speech; imagine the conversation. This was a fascinating two hours. You get the picture.

Marc Destrubé (violin) and Neal Peres da Costa (piano) gave a masterclass to students at the ANU School of Music. The students were Yan Tse (violin) with accompanist (name not on program) played Mozart Violin Concerto no.5, 1st movement. Clara Barrs (violin) and Lauren Giddy (piano) played Mozart Sonata in G, K.301. Ellen Falconer (piano) played Smetana On the sea shore. Andrew Blanch (guitar) played Scarlatti Sonata in Amin, K.175. Amelia Noble (cello) played Bach Cello suite no.3, Courante.