review of concert on 27/01/02
Taken from The Cambridge Student, 31/01/2002
ISIS 20th Century Piano-fest
Last Sunday saw the first ever concert in the Cambyrdge Union Building, at least in living memory. Although it transpired that the Union does not have terrific acoustics, the grandeur of the chamber—not to mention the comfy seats—made up for it. The soloist (wearing a very funky Chinese shirt) was Tau Wey, ironically the President of Isis’ rival, CU New Music Society. His playing was technically excellent, although it could occasionally have been more expressive. The orchestra performed well in the first movement, conquering the practical demands of this difficult music, with one highlight the magical harp solo performed by Stephen Lewis. There were a few wrong entries and incorrect notes, but the conductor, Sadaharu Muramatsu, was most impressive. He had been drafted in at very short notice, but nevertheless conducted very confidently and with much character. At the end of the concerto Wey came back for an encore, surprisingly choosing a Satie Gymnopédie.
In the second half Mat Trustram and Matthew Pritchard excelled in Poulenc’s ‘Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra’. This piece is full of musical jokes and constantly changes its mood and atmosphere. The expressive edge that was lacking in Ravel was captured perfectly in the Poulenc. The principal cellist, Richard Owen, gave a very expressive solo in the second movement and the conductor, Steven Rajam, maintained a high degree of coherence throughout. This piece is really good fun to perform, and the fact that everyone was enjoying it (including the audience) showed. The pianists could have acknowledged the audience more during the (loud) applause.
The last concerto to be performed was Shostakovich’s ‘First Piano Concerto’, which is only accompanied by a small string section and a (sic.) contains a prominent trumpet part, played expertly by David Gange, especially during the sensitive second movement. Tom Stothart was the soloist, and performed the best out of all three (sic.) pianists; incredibly difficult piano music (it sounds as if you would need at least three hands to play it) was played with much flair (and only two hands).
The strings also coped superbly with very complex music, at one point even having to bash their instruments with their bows ‘collegno’. The concerto ended with a galloping finale, and was followed by much applause from a very appreciate audience.
The quality of the concert was mostly very high, and bodes well for the future of this fledgling society.