CONCERT REVIEWS
Celebration of Romantic Music
Concert organiser and the church Music Director Derrick Matthews with Catherine van de Geest (left) and Anna Markland.
Concert review by Joss Kelly
(courtesy of the Bucks Herald)
Music For a Summer Evening
WEDNESDAY July 28 saw the welcome return of pianist Anna Markland to Aylesbury Methodist Church. This time she was accompanied by violinist Catherine van de Geest for a delightful programme of mainly 19th century music.
Most of the programme was devoted to an exploration of the sonata for piano and violin, starting with Beethoven’s Sonata in G major op 30 no 3, composed early on in his career, in 1802. Considering that this was the time when he found out that he was going deaf, it is an astonishingly light hearted work, with a lyrical and measured minuet bookended by movements that are positively cheerful.
The Sonata in G minor by Debussy, the composer’s last work, has a rather melancholy first movement, a fantastical second, and a finale with fireworks. Catherine, who introduced the piece, said it was her favourite and it was certainly a great showcase for her considerable talents.
Brahms’ Sonata in A Major, which finished the concert, was unashamedly lyrical and romantic, with themes reflecting his favourite holiday retreat in Switzerland, where it was composed.
All three were splendidly performed as were the shorter works interspersed throughout the concert, including a charming Chopin Nocturne from Anna, and two pieces showcasing the female composers that both performers champion.
The first was a heartfelt Adagio by Fanny Mendelssohn’s, while the second was a passionate Romanze by Clara Schumann.
A combination of superb musicianship and informal, but informed, introductions, made this a most enjoyable evening.
Silent Film Spectacular. Donald MacKenzie (left), organist of the Odeon, Leicester Square, presented the third of his accompanied programmes of comedy classics from the early cinema at Aylesbury Methodist Church
Organ provides sound of silents.
AYLESBURY Methodist Church presented a highly enjoyable evening of silent films on Wednesday January 20. The films were accompanied on the organ by Donald MacKenzie, who in addition to his concert career is internationally renowned for his work in this field.
The first film to be shown was Coney Island, written and directed by Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, who also took a starring role as a husband who sneaks off from his wife on their beach holiday and is involved in various misadventures.
After an interlude of organ solos, next up was Felix in Hollywood, a 1923 short featuring Felix the Cat, the first animated character to draw movie audiences.
Although seemingly primitive by today’s standards of animation, Felix demonstrates that a simple drawing can be more expressive, imaginative and funny than any amount of CGI.
After the interval there was an even bigger treat in store - Buster Keaton’s The General. The title refers to the engine which is Keaton’s character’s greatest love, along with his fiancée Annabelle.
The General is set in the American Civil War and when Keaton tries to join up, he is turned down as he is considered more valuable as a train driver. He is branded as a coward, but of course manages to win, if not the war, the battle more or less single handed.
The film is notable for the pretty much non-stop highly dangerous stunts performed by Keaton on and around moving trains, and once again prompts favourable comparisons with film making today, with green screens, stuntmen and health and safety rules.
Donald MacKenzie’s playing added greatly to the enjoyment of all three films, weaving together familiar tunes and sound effects that perfectly complemented the action on the screen, and the capacity audience clearly had a whale of a time!
Report printed by kind permission of Joss O’Kelley –Bucks Herald