DESCRIPTION:
Our lunchtime chamber concert at the Emmanuel United Reformed Church, Cambridge UK.
14t November 2013

Mifune Tsuji - violin
Yukie Smith - piano (http://yukiestpiano.wordpress.com/tag/yukie-smith/)

For those who would rather listen to the whole concert on iPod, the audio only recording is available free to download from my bandcamp page:
https://yukiesmith.bandcamp.com/album/eurc-lunchtime-concert-live-recording

Programme:

J.S. Bach (1685 - 1750)
Concerto in G Minor for Violin and Piano
I. Moderato (00:47)
II. Largo (04:32)
III. Presto (07:27)

Guillaume Lekeu (1870 - 1894)
I. Très modéré (11:30)
II. Très lent (23:53)
III. Très animé (34:41)

Encore:

Kousaku Yamada (1886-1965)
からたちの花 - Bitterorange Blossom (45:51)

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Bach's Concerto in G Minor
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Some may be familiar with this work as the harpsichord concerto No 5 in F minor, BWV1056; one of JS Bach's seven concertos for harpsichord and orchestra. Despite them being widely known as keyboard concertos, none of them seems to have been conceived for that instrument originally. The F minor Concerto, which is being performed today, is believed to be a lost violin Concerto in G minor. It's intriguing to compare musical textures achieved by the two contrasting instrumentations; one with the solo played by a keyboard instrument of percussive nature (or plucked) accompanied by string orchestra and the other by a bowed string instrument accompanied by a keyboard. All three movements are in ritornello form, in which each movement is based on a single theme restated in various orchestrations at the opening, closing, and after each exploratory section.


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Lekue's Violin Sonata in G Major
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Lekeu is one of those extremely gifted composers who died early (at the age of 24). He was considered one of Belgium's bright young stars, but unfortunately died before he could harvest the fruits of a ripened genius. Lekeu's talent impressed César Franck, who would later become his teacher, mentor and close friend. Lekeu's Sonate pour piano et violon en Sol Majeur (1892) was premiered in 1893, and since then has never left the standard repertoire of the violin in France. It is worth noting that the title mentioned the piano before the violin, certainly to emphasize the importance of the piano part. Chromaticism is found in the first movement of the sonata, which opens with a beautiful calm statement played by the violin, accompanied by very light and sporadic piano chords suggesting moving harmony. Before leaving the maze of this first movement, the conversation between the piano and the violin arrives at a unison agreement and a victorious climax, later leading into a regretful and moving coda. This end sets the mood for the deep and touching second movement. By choosing a 7/8 meter, the first theme is continuous, as if the atmosphere is too unbearably intense to even breathe. The third movement seems more traditional with its sonata form and use of counterpoint than the themes of the first two movements, which are more spontaneous with their chromatic adventures.

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Yamada's Karatachi no Hana (Bitterornage Blossom)
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It's originally a traditional Japanese folk song that any Japanese knows
by heart. The music was set to the work of Yamada' poet friend
Hakushu Kitahara (1885-1942).

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Video recorder: Flip Video Ultra HD
Audio recorder: Zoom H4n
Video editor: Corel VideoStudio Pro X5

Piano: Kawai
Violin: Grancino