“It brought tears to my eyes” was the reaction of one long-standing Peak Music Society member to Kammerphilharmonie Europa’s exquisitely performed Bach’s much-loved Double Violin Concerto, with soloists Pavel Zuzanski and Andrei Sur passing the baton seamlessly as each in turn took the lead.
It’s been a long time since the formality of white tie and tails have graced Peak Music recitals, and this was also the largest ensemble Peak Music has seen. Seven strings accompanied Cyrill Gusarrov’s virtuoso performance of Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto to fill both the stage and the hall with the intensity of their sound and verve of their playing. Sadly the ninth member and oboist had been unable to join the group because of COVID-19, but this did not affect the enjoyment of our first recital of the year.
Their programme ranged from the Baroque of Corelli, Hummel and Bach to the Romantic, with sensitive performances of Elgar’s Serenade for Strings and Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, before rounding off with Mozart’s Divertimento in F major. The audience were captivated, demanding an encore, for which they were duly rewarded with a haunting rendition of Piazzola’s Oblivion scored for trumpet and strings, which made the perfect end to the evening.
You can get a flavour of the concert by clicking on the video link above.