CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27441, 30 August 1954, Page 3

CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT

MAURICE CLARE AND JANETTA MfSTAY

Quite apart from the interesting programme and the high standard of the playing the concert given by the, Christchurch Chamber Music Society in the Civic Theatre, on Saturday evening was noteworthy for two reasons. It gave another opportunity for us to hear Mr Maurice Clare, whose visits are always awaited with eagerness by sensitive music lovers, and it enabled us to hear Miss Janetta Stay. Hpr broadcast performances have given a strong impression that she is a pianist and ■ musician of distinction, and so she proved, herself to be when heard on the concert platform. The programme was well away from the beaten track. It consisted of Beethoven’s Sonata in D, Op. 12, No. 1, Hindemith’s Sonata in E flat, Op. 11, No. 1, a Sonatina by Jean Francaix, the Adagio and Fugue from Bach’s Sonata in C major for Unaccompanied Violin, and Richard Strauss’s Sonata for Violin and Pianoforte in E flat, Op. 18.' There was, therefore, a wide variety of interest and a fitting sense of form in the programme. Mr Clare found in Miss McStay a pianist who could match his own wide musicianship. In subtleties of phrasing, in perfect cohesion, in tonal colouring, and in rhythmic drive they were splendidly in accord throughout the whole of the programme. The main fault in the first half of the programme was that the balance between the instruments was often not all that it should have been. This was not caused by one performer having a different idea of the work from the other, which' is usually the case, but because the lid of the pianoforte was fully raised. In the second half the lid was on the half-stick, and all was well. I One could not complain that Miss McStay was at all at fault in the power which she used. The music demanped It. Possibly the conditions of balance I were different when the hall was I empty. . . The- first movement of the Beethoven, martial in character, was stirringly played. At the beginning some of the pianoforte runs sounded rather cloudy, but this Was the only time when Miss McStay’s work was anything. but crystal clear. Both players gave us a nobility of tone in the second movement, but in the heavier variations the balance Was not always happy. The last movement was extremely jolly. The Hindemith sonata was marked throughout by strength of harmony and well-knit structure. The first movement, unlike so . much or Hindemith’s music, contained tunes that anyone could whistle. The second movement has an exquisite opening and ending. It is questing music, philosophical and tender. Both players had the sensitivity of mind so necessary for portraying this work. Jend Francaix’s sonatina was a thoroughly delightful little work. In its first movement there was colour and brightness, put together with typically French logic of statement. The second movement was quite lovely. It opened with a restful .little theme from the unaccompanied violin. Then there came • a theme from the pianoforte which had the atmosphere of a carol. Both instruments continued in the mood of the opening, and then the carol-theme returned. The third movement also contained plenty of contrast. It opened in meditative and restful style. This was followed by happy merry-making. It alternated between these two moods and then combined them, with the violin taking the first theme and the pianoforte the second. The happiness of the pianoforte proved too much for the violin, and it joined in the fun in a happy outburst at the end. . Mr Clare has for a long time justly been regarded as a violinist who has rare accomplishments in the playing of Bach’s unaccompanied sonatas. These . are among the greatest of all composi- I I tions for the instrument. The various melodic strands, each given iffi own i tonal colouring, came forth with perfect clarity ana it all seemed so deceptively easy. The wonderful fugue rolled forth with nobility and it seemed hard to believe that it really came from only one instrument. This magnificent playing alone would place Mr Clare in a high position among concert violinists of the day. . Both players gave us a first-class performance of the Strauss Sonata in iE flat. All its rich romanticism was brought out with a most exciting variety of expression. However, after the architectural grandeur and classic nobility of the Bach, one found it just l a little difficult to enter fully, into this lush atmosphere. Once again the Christchurch Chamber Music Society gave us a concert which kept up the remarkably high standard it has set in the P ast^ Fß