I have always felt that the greatness of Ensemble intercontemporain is due in large part to the balance between its stunning virtuosity, an incredible “ear” for colour, and the captivating sounds it serves up. Those attributes were to the fore in a programme to promote Wigmore Hall’s ‘Voices of Today’ initiative, with the spotlight on composer Katherine Balch, accordionist Hanzhi Wang and conductor Ustina Dubitsky. Such a line-up speaks volumes for an unrivalled commitment to championing works of the highest quality played by artists with flair and deep-seated musicality, and adding to a body of work that graces the legacy of the post-war avant-garde.
Régis Campo acted as herald to the programme with his Les Villes-lumières, a six-minute snapshot of the garishness of city lights that throbbed and pulsated with the abandon of late-night revelry. It was played with obvious delight by Jeanne Maugrenier (horn), Lucas Lipari-Mayer (trumpet) and Lucas Ounissi (trombone). Whilst the virtuosity of Maugrenier and Lipari-Mayer showed through their fingers, Ounissi’s relied on a trusty elbow almost as busy as that of a fiddler. It was the first shot on the way to intoxication.
Another brand of virtuosity was called for to answer the demands of Dai Fujikura’s Calling. It is a vivid fusion of the upper voice of the bassoon, singing with the mellowness of a soprano sax, and the buzz of a Nazard organ-stop evoked through multiphonics. This heady mixture was magnificently enunciated by Marceau Lefèvre. His control of timbre in the chords and the teasing-out of colour in the dense angular lines was masterly.
In A Hug to Die, Sofia Avramidou shows that she is a composer with a terrific flair for conjuring-up vivid textures, through well-honed and nuanced timbre. She speaks of the piece as being concerned with all manner of ailments haunting the human condition and in the excellent performance its edginess stood out in a startling manner. By contrast, Yan Maresz’s, Entrelacs was a shimmering burst of sparkling colours, evidence that the revellers where now on the streets with streamers, balloons and those annoying things that are the cousins of the Nazard. At this point they run into Pierre Boulez waving the score to Dérive 1. With it he leads the charge that opens up the space for all these voices to be heard.
The concert ended with a quite stunning first performance of Balch’s micro-concerto, Husk. A Wigmore Hall commission, it was written for Wang, its dedicatee. She is a gifted accordionist who combines mesmeric mastery of her instrument with a performative demeanour born of an innate musicianship. Balch’s description of the piece speaks of the accordion as the grain encased by the shell of the 12-piece ensemble and I guess that on the page it might be possible to grasp that. In performance, however, what emerged was a dialogue between soloist and ensemble that was rich in the imagery created by the sophistication of the writing and the controlled virtuosity of the playing. Eloquence was followed by rhapsody, introspection gave rise to radiance, and rapprochement led to a valedictory flourish from the accordion.
My valediction is in praise of Dubitsky: what an artist! Her presence on the podium for the last four pieces was not so much that of conductor as of summoner, and EIC responded to her summons with aplomb. She is completely at home in the repertoire and the stylishness of her gestures recall the poetry of Boulez’ movements. This was my first time encountering her in a live performance and it is one that I shall long remember.
