Proms Chamber Music 6: Hugh Wood and Claude Debussy

The quartet focus on composers' efforts to integrate folkloric elements into classical music structures in their recital in Alice Tully Hall.

For their performance in the barn-like structure, the Eschers proposed several remakable pieces not standardly performed.

Much like Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, Zemlinsky’s string quartets signifies the death of the Romantic world while laying the groundwork for the 20th century, but in contrast to Mahler’s cry of distress, Zemlinsky indulged in the new and eagerly descended into the future.

Red, white and blue bunting, with matching lighting, adorned the balconies of Cheltenham Town Hall, setting a patriotic scene for a concert of music from the year that World War I ended. Television presenter Julia Somerville opened the evening sat at a vintage newsdesk with her own careful research, for which she can be highly commended.

The concert opened with BBC newsreader Julia Somerville, summarising news from the year 1915 at an old-fashioned broadcasting desk complete with microphone. It was informative, and set the scene for this recital, one in a series of ‘time capsule’ concerts, solely featuring music composed in 1915 – including two of Debussy’s last chamber pieces.

Parfaitement accompagné par Bryan Wagorn, la soprano américaine a régalé le public, allant jusqu'à se démultiplier entre les différents personnages d'un même opéra !