Maxim Emelyanychev and SCO Principals
Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, 13/8/2024
Maxim Emelyanychev fortepiano, Stephanie Gonley violin, Marcus Barcham-Stevens violin, Max Mandel viola, Philip Higham cello, Nikita Naumov, double bass, Maximiliano Martin, clarinet
It’s standing room only for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s only instrumental concert of this Festival, an (almost) all-Mozart programme in three ensemble pieces featuring section Principals. Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev plays keyboard in all the ensembles, and in a keyboard solo ’Improvisation’ after the interval.
Mozart’s ‘Piano Quartet No 1 in G minor’ was written in 1785, the first of a commissioned series intended for domestic performance, but soon re-designated by his publisher when he recognised the work’s difficulty. Stephanie Gonley, violin, Max Mandel, viola and Philip Higham, cello, join Emelyanychev. The allegro first movement has a repeated motif of six notes in a dotted rhythm played initially by the strings together but popping up in different forms. The players are on gut-stringed instruments, and their robust and plangent tone provides the distinctive feel of the music we hear today, contrasting with the less strident tones of the 18th century keyboard. After a punchy short development of the motif at the end of the first movement, the slow fortepiano opening to the second movement marks a change in mood. Emelyanychev’s delivery of the melody is restrained, almost introspective, and the other musicians follow suit. The work ends with a faster Rondo, the initial melody turning up in interesting variations at each Rondo repeat.
The1786 ‘Piano Trio in E flat K498’ which follows is a bit of a rarity – the first example of a trio for keyboard, viola and clarinet. Today it’s the trio of three Maxes: Emelyanychev on fortepiano, Max Mandel on viola and Maximiliano Martin on clarinet. Mozart became a devotee of the clarinet during the last few years of his life and this piece joins the Clarinet Quintet and the Clarinet Concerto as the three instrumental works he wrote for it. The distinctive combination of clarinet with viola and fortepiano works beautifully, with Martin’s virtuosic playing throughout demonstrating the different qualities of the clarinet. It’s good, too, to see Max Mandel in the limelight and he clearly enjoys making the wonderful rich alto sound on the gut-stringed viola. The rapidly flowing first movement gives way to an initially forceful minuet, followed by a slightly strange hesitant trio. Then in various sections of the complicated Rondo finale, Martin uses the lower notes of his clarinet to wonderful effect, with burbling runs, reminiscent of some of the clarinet obbligato in ‘La Clemenza di Tito.’
After the interval, Maxim announces that his improvisation is a ‘Fantasy’ by Haydn. It starts off with a quick-fire volley on the keyboard but moves through various patterns in its five minute length – including some long silences “It says here,” he says, pointing to the score, “wait until all noise has stopped.” Reverberations continue during laughter and then he starts again.
Mozart’s 1782 ‘Piano Concerto No 12 K414’ is heard in an arrangement for keyboard and string quintet, including Marcus Barcham-Stevens on violin and Nikita Naumov on double bass. The bass’s lower notes added to the pounding strings make this a dynamic performance with moments of elegance and excitement during Maxim’s three cadenzas, a mixture, I would guess, of ones he’d prepared earlier and on the spot improvisation. The experienced string players take it all in their stride and pick up the cues perfectly. The work also includes one of Mozart’s best slow movements, the poignant melody played firstly by the strings and then on the keyboard – simple brilliance!
The full house includes several families and younger audience members who join the visitors and local stalwarts in long and enthusiastic applause.
Photo credit: Magnus Fraser
