Between us we attended four concerts at this year’s Bath Mozartfest. There were quite a few others we might have gone to, including Mozart’s Requiem in Bath Abbey, which some people I know were singing in and which caused me to regret the demises both of Richard Hickox and of the Bath Festival Chorus.
First up was the Takács Quartet on Saturday morning playing three Beethoven quartets: Op. 18 no. 1, Op 74 (the Harp) and Op. 131. This was a demanding programme for a morning concert, but I’m told the performances were very good, and notable for their clarity.
On Sunday evening other family members heard Viktoria Mullova playing Bach both solo and with Ottavio Dantone on the harpsichord. The concert started late and it took her a while to really appear comfortable, so the performances improved as the concert went on. (This was also the opinion of the reviewer in the Guardian.)
My first concert was on Wednesday in the Guildhall, with Bath resident Tim Hugh performing music for cello accompanied by Alasdair Beatson. ‘Accompanied’ is not really the right word when it came to Beethoven’s variations on Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen, because the piano has the upper hand much of the time, especially at the start. This was followed by Mendelssohn’s first cello sonata, Op. 45 and Schumann’s 5 Stücke im Volkston, Op. 102, both of which were new to me. I could see why I hadn’t come across them before as while they were pleasant enough to listen to, they weren’t all that memorable (so maybe I have heard them and forgotten about them). As at the Prom I went to, we had an encore by Shostakovich, and we felt that we’d rather have heard the whole of the sonata from which it was taken. I don’t think I’ve been to a concert of this kind before where the instrumentalist and the pianist introduced different items.
Finally we went to hear Pierre-Laurent Aimard in the Assembly rooms. I don’t think I’ve heard him play in Bath before so this was an especially welcome opportunity; many performers at the Mozartfest, such as the Tacács, Felicity Lott and the Nash Ensemble, are regulars here. This recital began with Mozart’s sonata in D K284, which overstayed its welcome somewhat, as all repeats were put in! I sensed that the programme was chosen to show Aimard’s skills at rippling semiquavers, as these appeared to effect in the remaining pieces, Beethoven’s sonata in E Op 14 no. 1, Miroirs by Ravel and Chopin’s Berceuse and B flat minor scherzo. These were poised and carefully structured performances. They can be heard at lunchtimes 24-27 November on Radio 3 (and presumably for a week after that on Listen Again). For an encore he played Messiaen’s ‘La Colombe’.
The Mozartfest of course also provided opportunities to sample Mozartkugels and other similar confections (there’s a chocolate truffle we haven’t encountered before). My daughter and I recommend the recently installed hand dryers in the ladies’ at the Assembly Rooms for an interesting tactile experience.