As the days get longer, and the temperatures slowly rise it can mean only one thing – the end of another Inverurie Music season! It has been a wonderful and varied season beginning with the explosive virtuosity of Hugh MacKay and Xiaowen Shang, moving through the gargantuan sounds of the Wallace Collection, the characterful lines of the Tim Kliphuis Trio and James Willshire’s beautiful homage to Ravel to the precision of the Piano Phase Project, the witty interplay of Ensemble Renard and finally finishing with tonight’s concert from Aberdeenshire-based string quartet the Thistle Quartet. It has been a season to remember with some fantastic performances, some unknown repertoire and, as always, receptive and welcoming Inverurie audiences.
One of the themes of this year’s concert series (somewhat unbeknownst in the planning!) has been the music of the brilliant French composer Maurice Ravel in his 150th anniversary year. James Willshire’s recital was structured around the Frenchman’s piano music and Piano Phase Project also featured his Mother Goose Suite: you could even make the case for the composer’s benevolent ghost haunting the Tim Kliphuis Trio’s concert based on Pictures at an Exhibition (of which Ravel crafted the definitive orchestration). It was no surprise that Ravel appeared in the final concert, in the guise of one of his most admired works, his String Quartet in F Major from 1903. This work, denounced by critics at the time, has gone on to be a mainstay of the quartet repertoire, sitting alongside his compatriot Debussy’s G Minor quartet at the apogee of French chamber music. The piece certainly gave the Thistle Quartet plenty to do in an ambitious opening to the concert, from the soft, mellifluous lines of the opening movement to the famous pizzicatos of the second, the desolation of the slow movement and the virtuosity of the finale – all of which was carried off with aplomb by the ensemble. The first half of the concert concluded with a short new work entitled Peatlands, largely composed by the quartet’s cellist Emily De Simone (in collaboration with her husband) but including substantial amounts of improvisation from the rest of the ensemble. There were moments of drama, introspection, colour and beauty in this brief piece, highlighting the ever-changing hues of the Scottish landscape.
The second half began with another short contemporary piece, this time Aileen Sweeney’s Ceilidh commissioned and first performed by the Red Note Ensemble in 2019. Like Peatlands, the quartet was full of Scottish themes, but all approached with a modern twist leading to a whirlwind dance through the material, complete with exciting string techniques and percussive effects, again delivered with panache by the quartet. This was followed by another statement work, Jospeh Haydn’s String Quartet Op.76, No.1, from one of the composer’s most enduring and respected set of quartets. Like many of the great Austrian’s mature works in the medium, different types of material jostle effortlessly, all strung together by Haydn’s masterful technique and understanding of the music. The Thistle Quartet obviously had a great affinity for this music, bringing out many of the different moods successfully, including the dark, G Minor opening to the finale. The concert was rounded off by three traditional tunes, two of which were written by members of the quartet (Alec’s Rhubarb Raid by second violinist Megan Cormack and Bon Accord Harbour by first violin Coralie Usmani), all of which were introduced with clarity by the individual players.
This was a lovely concert in a fine venue for an appreciate audience – you can’t wish for more to end a concert series! There is plenty to look forward to next year including more brass, saxophones, piano and voices – it promises to be just as memorable as this year!
PAC (1 May 2025)
