February 1, 2010
Music at Oxford brought together Emma Johnson, clarinet, and Pascal Rogé, pianist, last night in a concert of nineteenth and twentieth century music for the two instruments. We were treated to a delightful evening of music ranging from von Weber through Debussy, Brahms, Bernstein, Copland and Milhaud, with a Stravinsky clarinet solo and a Debussy piano solo.
The concert began with a light piece by von Weber, the Silvana Variations, before moving to the demanding Première Rhapsodie by Debussy, written apparently as a test piece for a clarinet exam. Although all the pieces played had their merits, this piece seemed to me to bring out the best in the instruments: the programme notes accurately describe the dreamlike quality of the music. In all, the Debussy pieces, including one of the two encores, La Fille aux cheveux de lin, were for me the most moving in the concert. Pascal Rogé played a wonderful solo, La cathedrale engloutie, sadly slightly marred at the end, through no fault of his own, by raucous students outside.
The twentieth century music, Stravinsky, Bernstein and Copland in particular, reveal how well suited a clarinet can be to jazz-inspired music and Emma Johnson positively skipped in time to the music as she played.
I remember Emma Johnson winning the Young Musician of the Year back in 1984: this means that the youthful-looking woman before us must have been in her forties. Incredible. Last night she introduced each piece of music in a slow, clear voice – one gets the impression she is used to talking to audiences of all ages and nationalities. What she said was interesting and amusing and she spoke, as she played, without referring to notes. She is a consummate performer and a sheer delight to watch and listen to; she seems to be able to smile even when she is playing. The seamless co-ordination between pianist and clarinettist was wonderful too and Pascal Rogé is, as the programme notes said, an example of ‘the finest in French pianism’.
The acoustics at the Sheldonian are good and almost compensate for the least comfortable concert seats in the UK, but it was a pity that a couple of front rows had been reserved for people who did not appear. However, those of us who were there had a wonderful evening. Thank you to Music at Oxford for arranging such a fantastic treat.
The concert began with a light piece by von Weber, the Silvana Variations, before moving to the demanding Première Rhapsodie by Debussy, written apparently as a test piece for a clarinet exam. Although all the pieces played had their merits, this piece seemed to me to bring out the best in the instruments: the programme notes accurately describe the dreamlike quality of the music. In all, the Debussy pieces, including one of the two encores, La Fille aux cheveux de lin, were for me the most moving in the concert. Pascal Rogé played a wonderful solo, La cathedrale engloutie, sadly slightly marred at the end, through no fault of his own, by raucous students outside.
The twentieth century music, Stravinsky, Bernstein and Copland in particular, reveal how well suited a clarinet can be to jazz-inspired music and Emma Johnson positively skipped in time to the music as she played.
I remember Emma Johnson winning the Young Musician of the Year back in 1984: this means that the youthful-looking woman before us must have been in her forties. Incredible. Last night she introduced each piece of music in a slow, clear voice – one gets the impression she is used to talking to audiences of all ages and nationalities. What she said was interesting and amusing and she spoke, as she played, without referring to notes. She is a consummate performer and a sheer delight to watch and listen to; she seems to be able to smile even when she is playing. The seamless co-ordination between pianist and clarinettist was wonderful too and Pascal Rogé is, as the programme notes said, an example of ‘the finest in French pianism’.
The acoustics at the Sheldonian are good and almost compensate for the least comfortable concert seats in the UK, but it was a pity that a couple of front rows had been reserved for people who did not appear. However, those of us who were there had a wonderful evening. Thank you to Music at Oxford for arranging such a fantastic treat.