The inaugural London Festival of Chamber Music draws to a close with a reflective and joyful programme, showcasing our guest artists as chamber musicians, soloists and conductors.
Pasculli was known as the “Paganini of the oboe”, and his Donizetti-inspired concerto pushes its soloist to the extremes. François Leleux, renowned for his flair and musicianship, is the work’s perfect advocate.
At the centre of the programme stands an undefinable work of genius: Ligeti’s Mysteries of the Macabre, a selection of songs drawn from his opera Le Grand Macabre. By turns absurd and sublime, it balances on the very edge of music and performance: the orchestra mimics and mocks the soloist, who is warning – hysterically and incomprehensibly – of a comet heading towards the mythical kingdom of Bruegelland. Sarah Aristidou reprises the solo role fresh from a performance of the complete opera at Wiener Staatsoper.
Two works with almost mythical status illuminate the programme. Respighi’s depiction of a sunset, for soprano and string quartet, was written in the years immediately following the First World War. It combines hope and despair in tender balance. Schubert’s Fifth features the smallest orchestra of all his symphonies – and its gravity-defying lightness and irrepressible joy owe much to the spirit of chamber music. What better way to complete this Festival?
