October 2008

Dear Music-lover,

On Tuesday, 14th October, we heard the first performance, for us, by the Auer Quartet, a quartet originally formed in 1990, and whose balance showed the advantages of many hours together. I first heard about them at a meeting of the East Coast music clubs in 2007, where they were highly recommended. Consequently, several clubs booked them in October 2008, which is why my morning post included a belt left by the first violinist in Milngavie.

One feature of a non-English speaking quartet is that very often, as tonight, their standard is much higher than we might otherwise anticipate. Another is the lack of communication with the audience. This was obvious at the beginning of the second half, where the quartet sat down and began the Mendelssohn quartet. "Strange Mendelssohn", I thought, but assumed that his quartets were ahead of his time. At the end of the first movement, some desultory applause broke out and the quartet stood up to take a bow. Their lack of confident English had dissuaded them from explaining to us that they had juxtaposed the 2 pieces on our programmes. What they had just played was the Liszt "Angelus", composed more than 50 years after the Mendelssohn.

My evening had started with a very pleasant dinner with Mike Zanre of Scotia Homes, sponsors of the concert, and his wife Alice. I was delighted to meet Mike, whose company have not only sponsored us for some years now but have been successful in their business in Inverness. Long may it continue, because it is only as a result of commercial sponsorship that we can attract groups of the quality of the Auer Quartet.

On Tuesday, 11th November, we welcome back old favourites - the Kungsbacka Piano Trio - with a new work, a first performance of "The Brook Sings Loud" by Scottish composer Helen Grime. See you there.

Paul