So asked Felicity Lott at the end of the recital in Bath’s Guildhall. I bet she saves that particular encore for all the plushest, most chandelier-laden venues. Many of the songs in her programme of Mozart, Strauss, Barber and Poulenc were ones I’ve learnt myself, so I was really able to appreciate the exemplary demonstration of how to do breath control.
Others in the family went to other concerts earlier in the festival. The Takacs Quartet were as good as usual, although they seemed to warm up a bit as the programme progressed. On Monday it was the Nash Ensemble. The novelty in the programme here was Mendelssohn’s String Quintet in E flat, Op.87. This was new both to us and to a professional musician we know who was at the concert. It didn’t seem to deserve its neglect, either. Richard Goode’s recital on the Wednesday was less satisfactory.
One difference this year is that the seating in the Assembly Rooms isn’t slightly raked as it has been in other recent festivals. This makes it hard to see the performers if you’re near the back. Another posting about the Mozartfest follows.