EIF: Maxim Emelyanychev & SCO Wind Soloists
Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, 21/8/26
Maxim Emelyanychev (piano), André Cebrián (flute), Clara Schweinberger (oboe), Maximiliano Martín (clarinet), Cerys Ambrose-Evans (bassoon), Kenneth Henderson (horn)
The Queen’s Hall concert on 21st August presented pianist Maxim Emelyanychev, Principal Conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, both as soloist and together with the orchestra’s principal wind players, in a programme of French chamber music, with works by Poulenc, Ravel and Françaix. The concert was recorded for later broadcast on BBC Radio 3. The hall was well-attended and “buzzing”.
Three Poulenc wind sonatas comprised the first half of the concert, starting with the ever-popular wistful 1957 Flute Sonata, with André Cebrián as soloist. Subtle rubato amplified the bittersweet charm of the main theme in the first movement, the piano relatively stoic and empathetic. A more rhapsodic and cheerful second theme recalled happier times, before a modified reprise led to an uneasy repose. The slow movement, a melancholy ‘Cantilena’, sang a neo-classical melody, which became ornately expressive, before returning again to uneasy repose. The finale was full of Poulenc mischief, a Presto romp, playful and energetic. A brief wistful glance back to the mood of the first movement, and the characterful reading of the piece galloped to its cheerful end.
Up next, Clara Schweinberger was the soloist in the 1962 Oboe Sonata. A slow-fast-slow pattern replaced the fast-slow-fast of the Flute Sonata. In the ‘Elégie’, the oboe’s plaintive Stravinsky-like lament floated over the stoic piano’s steady pulse, a stolid dependable friend. The two then conversed wistfully but grief overtook the exchange. The opening mood returned, settling on a spooky cadence. The Scherzo, a fast and furious jig, scampered demonically with extremely virtuosic playing from both. Its smoochy central section, recalled Prokofiev in similar mood with a lovely piano solo, before the abbreviated dizzy dance was reprised with a cheeky finish. ‘Déploration’ was a desolate incantation with a slightly Middle-Eastern feel, a “voice in the wilderness” vibe that reminded me of Bloch in biblical mode. Spellbinding playing and interpretation.
It was Maximiliano Martín’s turn to play the rather theatrical 1962 Clarinet Sonata. After a short snappy intro, an insouciant Allegretto with cheeky repartee between the two players frames a slower central louche moping episode, neither mood hiding the underlying melancholy. The oddly-named ‘Romanza’ is more overtly melancholy, full of unfulfilled longing, quoting Schumann’s prophetic bird and Tchaikovsky’s winter daydreams. The finale is a sprightly knees-up with hints of klezmer, a romantic episode twice interrupting, before a cheeky finish. Delightful.
After the interval, the 4 musicians already seen were joined by bassoonist Cerys Ambrose-Evans and hornist Kenneth Henderson for Françaix’ short witty sextet, ‘L'heure du berger’, three brief character sketches of Parisian café life. In ‘Les vieux beaux’, faded old dandies reminisce unconvincingly over vanished glory, swooping oboe glissandi, a chuckling clarinet and a drunken horn present in the texture. In ‘Pin-Up Girls’, a fantasia for overexcited clarinet, the piano is silent while the other winds play up teasingly to the clarinet’s rapt attentions. In ‘Les petits nerveux’, the overstimulated kids on a sugar rush galop around chaotically until the last spark of nervous energy is spent and they flop. What larks!
As a piano interlude, Maxim Emelyanychev played Ravel’s 1901 ‘Jeux d’eau’, evoking the glitter and sparkle of running water, in babbling brooks, fountains, cascades and plunge pools. Flawless articulation conjured the impressionistic images perfectly. Exquisite.
The programme concluded with Poulenc’s 1939 Sextet for Winds & Piano, in 3 movements. The first movement, in ternary form, is a rhythmically complex jazz-influenced romp with a slower central melancholy conversation that must have influenced Ronnie Hazlehurst in his theme for “The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin”. The episodic ‘Divertissement’ starts with a neoclassical Stravinsky-influenced plaintive lyrical conversation, leading to a faster cheery dance, then a return to the opening mood. The finale is a mischievous rondo galop, with more lyrical “Perrin-ish” episodes. It is the latter, after a pause, that provides the coda, pensive but positive. An intriguing and satisfying piece, persuasively and skilfully performed.
Link: https://www.eif.co.uk/events/maxim-emelyanychev-sco-wind-soloists