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Alix Goolden Performance Hall
October 14, 2012
I have a rather strange love-hate relationship with the music of César Franck.
The word "strange" I use advisedly, for, unlike most such relationships, this one is heavily tilted to one side. There is a single work by Franck - the violin sonata - which I love (no exaggeration, it is a candidate for my favourite violin sonata), where the rest of his music...well, "hate" may be too strong a term: intense dislike is probably more accurate.
Why then, you may be asking, should I submit myself (for the second time in eighteen months) to a performance of Franck's Piano Quintet?
The answer to that is simple: the musicians, all of whom I had heard before and wanted to hear again.
The following, then, must be read with all of the above in mind. There were moments when I simply wanted to rush into the street, shouting (with all due respect to Martin Luther King) "free at last, free at last!"
Walter Prossnitz, the Conservatory's new Head of Keyboards, is far more of a fan of the music than I - this was clear not only from his programme notes, but also his playing. He and the DieMahler Quartet certainly had me believing, for the first minute or so, that perhaps this was going to be the performance which finally revealed the mysteries of the Franck Quintet to me.
Alas, it was not to be; despite some adroit tempo changes, fine dynamics and a tempestuous coda in the first movement; despite good balances and tonal palettes in the second; despite the intensity of the finale, I could still hardly wait for the music to end.
César Franck may - probably should - take this personally. None of the musicians involved should.
Antonin Dvořák actually wrote two piano quintets - and how many other composers have don the same? - but it is the second, Op.81 in A, which has established a place in the standard repertoire.
As indeed it should: like all of Dvořák's music, its apparently effortless flow of melody is more than enough to overcome any structural shortcomings.
Launched by a wonderfully memorable cello melody - Lawrence Skaggs in particularly eloquent form - the opening movement was possessed of a thoroughly engaging and appropriate volatility and led to a sizzling coda, although it must be admitted that intonation was not all that it could have been and that, as in places in the Franck balances were sometimes problematic, with the viola and cello, in particular, struggling to be heard.
The second movement's haunting piano melody was exquisitely played by Prossnitz and there was a decidedly bucolic feel to the first of the quicker passages.
The scherzo tripped along merrily, with its trio in a decidedly higher gear, while the finale was brisk and spirited throughout.
A fine end to the afternoon.
Each half of the concert opened with a keyboard concerto by Bach.
These were both delightful, with Prossnitz adopting a crisp, yet never dry tone and the DieMahlers excellently balanced and in one accord.
While the quicker movements were certainly enjoyable - and the combination of stateliness and liveliness in the finale of BWV1055 nicely done - it was the slow movements of both concertos which really stood out for me, deeply felt and with gorgeous cantabile.
With the single exception already mentioned, this was a most enjoyable afternoon and a splendid way for Walter Prossnitz to celebrate his return to his hometown.
I look forward to hearing more from both him and the DieMahler Quartet - both separately and together.
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