Review: Manchester Camerata, Leeds Town Hall,
Saturday 17th October 2020
THREE twentieth century masterworks, each scored for just six players, produced rich sonorities in the acoustic warmth of Leeds Town Hall.
Leos Janáček’s Mládí -Youth - was written in 1924, towards the end of the composer’s life. Janáček takes a nostalgic glance back on his own youth and (presumed) happy childhood. The scoring for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon and bass clarinet created a deep velvety soundworld with just enough piquancy, in the virtuosic hands of Manchester Camerata.
By 1941, the seventy eight year-old Richard Strauss was beginning to look back on a long career when he composed Capriccio. This would be his final opera. The Capriccio Sextet is an exquisite piece for string ensemble; incorporated within the opera, but occasionally performed in the concert hall. Strauss’s long melodic lines are just as conversational as Janáček’s speech rhythms. The flavour of the piece is romantic and bittersweet as Strauss draws on his earlier musical influences.
Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht - Transfigured Night - is written for two each of violins, violas and cellos, but the piece is more often played in the 1917 version for string orchestra. Manchester Camerata sculpted the original sextet with artful care and every instrumental line beautifully delineated.
by Geoffrey Mogridge
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