(Maria
du Toit)
Premiere of interesting and attractive work
by David Earl. (Review by Michael Green)
A world premiere is a distinctly unusual
event on the Durban musical scene, and the latest concert of the KZN
Philharmonic Orchestra in the Durban City Hall was therefore a special
occasion. And indeed it turned out to be a triumph for the orchestra, the
soloist and the composer, who was in the audience.
The composition given its first performance
was a clarinet concerto by David Earl, who was born and schooled in South
Africa but has lived in England for the past 40 years. Born in Stellenbosch in
1951 and educated at Rondebosch Boys’ High, he made his first appearance with
the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra as a pianist at the age of 17.
He began composing in England in the 1970’s
and his output now includes three piano concertos, a trumpet concerto, a violin
concerto, a choral symphony, ballet music, film music, piano pieces, and an
opera, Hamlet. He teaches music at
Cambridge University.
The clarinet concerto was played in Durban
by Maria du Toit of Cape Town, one of South Africa’s most accomplished
clarinettists.
It is a most interesting and attractive
work. David Earl is a traditional type of composer, quite modern in style but
not aggressively and abrasively so. He himself describes this three-movement,
25-minute concerto as “neoclassical in structure”. There are many long, flowing
melodies for the clarinet, and the solo instrument is expertly balanced against
rich orchestral textures.
The slow movement displays the clarinet’s
limpid tone at its best, and the virtuoso final movement is a set of variations
on a fourteenth century French song.
All this was much appreciated by the
audience, who gave prolonged and deserved applause to the soloist, the
orchestra, the conductor, Arjan Tien, and of course the composer, who took a
bow at the end.
In conversation with me, David Earl said he
was much impressed by our orchestra, a real compliment, coming from such a
prominent figure.
English music was the theme of the concert,
with the orchestra responding well to the baton of Arjan Tien, who comes from
the Netherlands and has been a guest conductor here for the past 15 years. The
programme opened with The Wasps Overture
by Ralph Vaughan Williams, an adornment to a comedy by the classical Greek
writer Aristophanes, and later we had two works by Edward Elgar, his Serenade for Strings and the Enigma Variations. The high point of the
latter was a splendid and resounding performance of the famous Nimrod
variation, noble and inspiring music. - Michael Green
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