Saturday 26 March 2011
Huw Morgan and Timothy End - trumpet and piano recital
Programme:
Albinoni: Concerto in B-flat major Op. 7 No. 3
Oskar Lindberg: Andante - Gammel Fäbodpsalm Från Dalarna
Georges Enesco: Légende
Olga Neuwirth: Laki for solo trumpet
Schumann: Arabesque in C major, Op. 18
Schumann: Adagio & Allegro in A-flat major Op. 70
Shchedrin: A la Albéniz
Thorvald Hansen: Sonata for Trumpet & Piano in E-flat major Op. 18
George Gershwin: Someone to Watch Over Me (from 'Oh Kay!')
Three Pieces arr. Rachmaninov
Carl Höhne: Slavische Fantasie
What a fabulous duo they were – I must say those who could not make this recital missed a lot. Huw and Tim brought us such a delightful evening of enjoyable music and informative talks. I have received many enthusiastic comments from the attendees, thank you!
A lot of people wondered what the trumpet sound level would be like. Generally speaking , when we think of this instrument, we tend to think that it produces ear-piercing, loud and metallic sounds and is most associate it with marching band music. What a misconception! Huw’s playing was nothing like that; it was highly musical, lyrical, expressive and gentle.
Their programme was really interesting. It consisted of such diverse and contrasting pieces, from Baroque to Modern. Huw played the piccolo trumpet for Torelli’s Sonata. This sonata was played as introductory music before church mass, just like an overture comes before an opera. Oskar Lindberg’s Old Tune from Dalecarlia was breath-taking. It was emotional, expressive and moving. Great Romanian composer Enesco’s Légende came next. Huw commented that this piece included absolutely everything a trumpet could do – and surely it was impressive. Huw had this amazing control over the instrument and the sounds were great. What I loved most about this piece was the beginning; beautiful and somewhat nostalgic chords were introduced by the piano, and the trumpet joined with heart-touching melody. Tim’s piano was absolutely brilliant! The next piece, Olga Neuwirth’s Laki for solo trumpet was full of fun. Huw displayed so many varieties of sounds, which entertained all the audience. This was followed by the piano solo, Schumann’s Arabesque. Tim’s interpretation was different from what I used to – much slower and much more cautious, but exceptionally touching. My dear neighbour Adrian, who is very knowledgeable and a keen pianist himself, pointed out that Schumann was already distressed and depressed when he composed it, and that Tim expressed this feeling really well. The first half concluded another beautiful piece, Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro. Tim used the flugelhorn to play it. The beginning of Adagio was heavenly, with such lyrical and musical melody. I love Schumann, he left many great compositions but this one definitely is added to my favourite Schumann works.
I was completely satisfied with the first half, but to my surprise the second half was even better! Shchedrin’s A la Albéniz was an exciting piece. The duo worked together in perfect collaboration. I loved Tim’s piano as much as Huw’s trumpet part. The next piece, Sonata by Danish composer Thorvald Hansen was a kind of salon music, and it suited perfectly to our Society! And, Gershwin’s Someone to Watch over Me was truly awesome. It had one hundred percent wow factor. Tim played two pieces arranged by Rachmaninov while giving Huw a break, which I enjoyed thoroughly listening to. Another impressive piece, Höhne’s Slavische Fantasie concluded the evening. I would give 10 out of 10 for this recital, what do you think?
PS. I was wondering how many different types of trumpet Huw would bring. I picked up Huw and Tim at Woking station, and let me tell you, I can spot them from miles away as they were carrying boxes of Huw’s instruments! I guess Tim must serve as a bag carrier as well as an accompanist whenever they play together!
--- Kumi Smith-Gordon
