The Evening of Instrumental Duets by Foreign Composers

The Primorsky Stage musicians present an unusual programme featuring instrumental duets by foreign composers. The concert brings together rarely performed works by both famous and almost forgotten authors, as well as pieces by modern composers. All the evening the instruments are being combined, sometimes in quite a fanciful manner, giving the listeners a unique chance to appreciate the combination of their timbers.

Among the rarities included into the concert programme are string duets by French composers of the first part of the 18th century, who enjoyed fame as preeminent virtuosos of their time. Jean-Marie Leclair is by right considered to be the founder of the French classical string school, synthesizing the achievements of Italian masters (Corelli, Vivaldi) and the manner of writing characteristic of the Frenchmen with its elegance, plastique of strokes, refinement and bouncing rhythms.

His contemporary, the outstanding cellist Jean-Baptiste Barriere, during his short life (40 years) published four volumes of sonatas for cello, financed by Louis the XV. Sonata for two cellos No. 22 in G major instantly enchants by the depth and emotionality of its sounding: a melodical conversation between two instruments in Andante, a melancholic Adagio, and the brilliant finale – Allegro prestissimo. The latter received a wide recognition thanks to its original arrangement by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and jazz singer Bobby McFerrin.

Another “stranger” in the programme – Robert Fuchs, an Austrian Professor at the Vienna Conservatory, who taught such notable personalities as Gustav Mahler and Johan Sibelius, failed to become famous as a composer, mostly due to his singular modesty. Although he had a lot of admirers, including Johannes Brahms, Fuchs refused to organize concerts of his works, remaining in the shadow of his distinguished students.

Seemingly well-known composers also present themselves from quite an unexpected angle. Thus, Beethoven’s Duo for viola and cello has a humorous instruction: “A duo requiring two pairs of eye-glasses”, where he hints at the short-sightedness of its first two performers – the author himself and his friend, the amateur cellist Nikolaus Zmeskall. The mood of the music is as charming as its title - it is a jocular, full of playfulness dialogue between the instruments. Another high-spirited piece is Duo for cello and double bass by Gioacchino Rossini, who is famous for his comic operas. In this ensemble the double bass appears as a theatre character – a bass buffo with a hoarse voice – the part that requires great technical finesse.

The highlights of the concert are percussion and wind duos by the 20^th century composers: Sonata for two clarinets by the early Francis Poulenc, Duet for two bass trombones by the Belgian Steven Verhelst, as well as compositions featuring matimba – a jazz duo by Myles Write from Australia, Losa by Emmanuel Sejourne and African Blues by the German percussionist Wolfgang Roggenkamp.

Natalia Rogudeeva