May 2009

Dear Music-lover,

It's difficult to sum up everything that happened on this gorgeous evening. I almost resented being there on a beautiful, warm, cloudless May evening. How wrong I was.

Sax Ecosse started their programme with an arrangement of 3 Gershwin piano preludes, which I had played in their original form but which were remarkably convincing saxophone pieces. The introduction by Karen to the 2 movements from Philip’ Glass’s saxophone quartet reminded me of a comment from another committee member, "I can't stand Glass, unless it's half-empty". To my ears, however, it was easy to listen to, with a background "wash", decorated by a solo instrumental voice. The first half ended with selections from West Side Story, where it was impossible to listen to the music without the words going through your head.

The second half opened with an verbal introduction by composer Eddie McGuire to the world premiere of his "Hidden Dialects". With the benefit of Eddie’s words, I was just able to follow the "script", with the four instrumentalists starting at different parts of the platform, making disjointed sounds and then gradually moving together, to start "conversations". I think I may have recognised one or two of the dialects in the music, but I'm glad there wasn't a competition.

In March, the group gave the UK premiere of David Maslanka’s "Recitation Book will and it was easy to see how popular this has become with its Gregorian chants and "tumultuous" finale.

However, in many respects the best was left till last. Their first encore was "The Lone Arranger", where Rossini's music was interspersed with a vast number of snippets from other pieces. The group left the stage, only to respond to the continuing applause by reappearing, one by one, each playing their part of Ravel’s “Bolero” as they walked round the audience and coming together for a final flourish.

It was a fitting, smiling end to a great season. Alasdair Beatson, the Perth-born pianist who recently played with the SCO in Eden Court, starts our 2009/10 season on 16th September. See you there.

Paul