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Concert Reviews |
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 Index of Reviews |
Katia and Marielle Labèque, 29th October 2002, Symphony Hall, Birmingham The audience were close to dancing in the aisles, I could sense, as this electrifying performance came to a close. A crowd-pleasing, yet interesting programme featuring the unusual ensemble of two pianos, percussion and electronics began with Three Preludes by Gershwin. Though these pieces are brief and unassuming, the Labèque sisters played them with great energy, revelling in the lively jazz rhythms of the outer movements while achieving remarkable sensitivity in the slow movement. Probably the most intriguing part of the concert was the world première of Dave Maric’s “Exile”, commissioned by the pianists. This young British composer has sought to combine a number of disparate influences in his work, including jazz, Latin American, improvisational and popular music. In this new work, Maric transported us into a unique sound world; his own live electronics providing a subtle backdrop for percussive ostinati and evolving melodic ideas. Though the music could be unnervingly disjointed at times, the work impressed due to its impressive fusion of diverse styles combined with an incredible exploration of timbre. The programme concluded with an epic arrangement of music from Bernstein’s West Side Story. Most outstanding here was the dexterity of the players, including percussionists Colin Currie and Julio Barreto who provided wonderful solos and had every foot in the auditorium tapping. Though the Labèques perhaps failed to capture some of the poignancy of the songs, which of course include the show stopping “Maria” and “Somewhere”, – one got the impression they much preferred the jazzy flourishes of the dances – the commitment by the players to every style, from blues to Latin American, was impressive. They had no choice but to return for two sprightly encores. A light-hearted evening indeed, and immensely enjoyable for it. Tim Foxon |
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