A new take on Strauss’ merry pranks lead to decidedly mixed bag.

QSO Studio, Southbank, Brisbane
July 5, 2015

The Queensland Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players is a solid idea – a low-key and relaxed performance atmosphere, in the fine acoustic of the fairly new QSO Studio in Brisbane’s Southbank. Unfortunately, this concert wasn’t entirely successful by any means.

The programme, as far as I could tell, was assembled by various players simply putting their hands up to make suggestions as to what the concert would feature. As such, it was a bit of a hodge-podge in terms of programming, without any discernible thread tying it together.

The concert opened well, with Irit Silver presenting Crusell’s Clarinet Quartet No. 2 in C minor, Op. 4. Despite some explosively questionable intonation at the beginning, the ensemble recovered smoothly. With plenty of classical charm, the four movements had some very fine moments, from the fine blending of the clarinet in the Meneutto and Trio, to the fabulously Gypsy-influenced finale. Packed with charisma, the piece provided a pleasant introduction to the rest of the concert.

Strangely, the next piece on the programme was Debussy’s late Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp. While I can’t quite see the logic in including Debussy next, it was a strong performance, with particular mention needing to be made of the wonderfully rich tone of Tara Houghton’s viola.  Flautist Alexis Kenny introduced the work, pointing out the difficulty of the piece, with an emphasis on its rhythmic intricacies.  If that’s the case, the difficulties weren’t audible at all, perhaps due to harpist Lucy Reeves’ assured integration with the other players.

Disappointingly, Berwald’s Grand Septet in B flat is where things went downhill. It’s both unprofessional and not such a good idea to begin a performance by highlighting the work’s limitations, and by pointing fingers at other musicians who had suggested playing it. This oddly negative introduction coloured the perception of the work, before a single note had even been heard. While the Grand Septet definitely isn’t going to win any “Most Original Work” awards, the musicians nonetheless played with gusto, with double bassist Justin Bullock’s powerful low notes forming the backbone of the group.

Closing the concert was Franz Hasenohrl’s reworking of Richard Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (Till Eulenspiegel’s merry pranks), with this new chamber version called Till Eulenspiegel einmal anders! (Till Eulenspiegel – different this time).  While it was a little bizarre hearing the various Strauss motifs and melodies being played by only five musicians instead of ninety or so, the arrangement actually works surprisingly well.

While the slightly haphazard programme didn’t quite hang together, there was nothing wrong with the actual performances. Perhaps next time, though, a set of pieces that made a coherent whole would result in a more successful concert.