THE names Leonard Elschenbroich and Alexei Grynyuk hardly trip off the tongue like Morecambe and Wise, but musically they are as well knit a team as the great British comedy duo.
Opening with a delightful rendition of Mozart’s Piano Sonata in A major, in which he coaxed and cajoled in turn the piano to pick up every gentle, humorous and when required stronger emotion in Mozart’s music, and ending with the ever popular Rondo Alla Turca, Grynyuk then played without the aid of a score and timed every note of the score placed before him as he joined cellist Elschenbroich for Beethoven’’s Cello Sonata in A major.
There were moments when, eyes firmly closed, Elschenbroich appeared to be so lost in the music that he was oblivious to his fellow musician. Not for a moment however did he cease to be in full control of his outpouring of emotion, or he and Grynyuk cease to be “the dream team” as far as this work was concerned.
The same pattern was repeated in the second half of the programme with pianist welcoming the audience back with another finely delivered Mozart Sonata, in F major, before combining once again with the cellist for a second Beethoven Cello Sonata, in D major. The combination once again produced some magical musical moments, but with that outstanding earlier presentation of the A major Sonata still fresh in the mind, this one rated merely a triple A rather than triple A plus.
This concert marked the end of the Chamber Music in the 2019 Mozartfest, finishing on the high standard that had been set in the first concert by the Nash Ensemble at the Assembly Rooms.
Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of this prestigious festival, and we all look forward to what musical goodies artistic director Amelia Freedman has in store to mark this eagerly anticipated landmark.
GRP