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This concert was promoted by Inverurie Music as part of Sound, North East Scotland's festival of new music.

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Madeleine Mitchell

David Matthews

Sound

Morgan's Music Shop

Aberdeen Box Office

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Original listing

Review by Alistair Massey

Madeleine Mitchell (violin) and Nigel Clayton (piano) made a return visit to Kemnay Church Centre on Saturday with a performance that was part of Sound Festival 2012. The programme featured two pieces from living composers. One of these, John Hearne, was in the audience and lives nearby. As part of her visit, Madeleine also carried out workshops with the string section of Inverurie Orchestra and with pupils at Dyce Academy. Nigel is a regular visitor to these parts, giving special coaching at the North East of Scotland Music School. Both are Professors of their respective instruments at the Royal School of Music.

The object of the Sound Festival is to promote new music and Madeleine elaborated on the programme as she introduced each piece of music. The first was the rarely heard Sonata in A minor by Beethoven, who had a great influence on the next composer that was featured, David Matthews. His Romanza was composed for Madeleine this year in two versions — one with strings and one with piano alone — so we were treated to its second performance. The opening section featured two contrasting ideas with a dramatic theme followed by a gentler reflective one. A hectic waltz formed a middle section and this was combined with the opening to bring it to a conclusion.

John Hearne's Endurspegla (Reflection) was composed for Icelandic friends to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. It was a miniature tone poem that evoked Iceland's scenery with its icy piano triplets set against a lyrical theme of calmer water that can "look back".

As well as being pioneers in contemporary music, Madeleine and Nigel are equally good at finding pieces that are unusual perhaps, but worth performing. Amongst these was an early piece by Delius, Légende of 1895, a sweetly lyrical piece, skilfully harmonised in late romantic style. Another late romantic, Respighi, surprised us with his Sonata in B minor. We often think of "programme music" such as the Pines of Rome when Respighi is mentioned, but this rarely performed piece of 1917 was intense, virtuosic and experimental and showed the composer in a different light.

Madeleine and Nigel clearly enjoyed the Sonata. Both instruments were prominent, often with cross rhythms. The understanding and expression that the performers folded into this difficult and intense music was superb. Finishing with a tribute to Bach, a dramatic theme in dotted rhythm in thundering octaves was announced on the piano that formed a ground bass for a set of variations. This relentlessly stern Passacaglia brought the piece to a conclusion, but as an encore and a change of mood the first movement of Debussy's Sonata, also composed in 1917, concluded the performance.

The next Inverurie Music concert will be with Arta Articane (piano) on Friday 18 January 2013, also at the Kemnay Church Centre at 8pm. See www.inveruriemusic.co.uk for details.

Photos by John Hearne

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