Recital
Lino Pirotta, clarinet and Gisèle Grima, piano
St James Cavalier
What a pity that this very well-planned and prepared recital was rather poorly attended, as few bothered to turn up at the Music Room, for Lino Pirotta and Gisèle Grima’s duo recital.
The darkly hued introduction to Honegger’s Sonatina quickly increased in piquancy leading to its jazz-influenced finale- Albert G. Storace
The duo presented a programme of all-French music for piano and clarinet, with Ms Grima performing additional number of preludes from Debussy’s Preludes, Book II. During the first half she performed No. 1, Brouillards with its evocative tonal ambiguity and the more abstract Les tierces alternées, the latter with the same required elegance and style. In the second half she performed the very sonorous and rather mysterious No.10, Canope and No.6, the amusing Général Lavine – eccentric.
Elegance and style are a hallmark of French chamber music. Performing in ensemble, Mr Pirotta with his clarinet and Ms Grima with her solidly supportive and sympathetic accompaniment ensured that they maintained these aspects right through their various interpretations of the works for duo which began with the light, jaunty and rather charming Canzonetta by Gabriel Pierné.
This was a sort of warming up to one of the major works performed, the Sonata for Clarinet and Piano in E flat Major, Opus 167 by Saint-Saëns. This very late work encapsulates a lot what stuff the composer was made of. There is a wealth of contrasts which cover a wide range of moods, such as the clarinet’s warm and melancholic delivery of the opening pages, the fresh and zestful spirit of the animato, (hardly expected of an octogenarian) who then plunges the depths in the almost menacing lento.
As with the previous movements the music was delivered with great finesse and feeling and while the concluding allegro moves along smoothly and apparently near to a happy conclusion there is a sudden throw back to the opening bars of the sonata which brought it to a soft, rather sad conclusion.
Quite opposite in mood was Milhaud’s Duo Concertante with its jaunty introduction and its far from subtle jazzy feel as the piece rollicked along with sprightly exchanges between the duo.
The darkly hued introduction to Honegger’s Sonatina quickly increased in piquancy leading to its jazz-influenced finale. This is something to which Poulenc, in his Sonata is not totally immune.
The particularly expressive clarinet dominating the melodic line to the tender accompaniment of the piano was noteworthy. Poulenc here reserves all his liveliness and wit in the outer movements, although the opening movement was not bereft of some reflective, almost downright plaintive moments. The concert ended with Henri Rabaud’s Solo de Concours, Opus 10.