Joseph Haydn: Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Hob. VIIb/1
Bela Bluche: Xiloeta, small suite in trio, for Trumpet, Viola and Bass
Johannes Brahms: String Quintet No. 2 in G Major, Opus 111
Bela Bluche: Bass
Fanton Clerc: Violin
Johannes Eva: Viola
Carola Eva-Richter: Violin
Elisa Garzia: Violin
Nicolas Hugon: Cello
Noé Inui: Violin
Hedy Kerpitchian: Violin
Simon Lasserre: Trumpet
Myriam-Elena Siegrist: Cello
Esther Steinmeier: Cello
Just like the first concert of my 2024 summer season took place in Bonlieu-sur-Roubion’s Basilique Sainte-Anne, that’s also where I was with my mom last Wednesday evening for what will probably be the last concert of my 2024 summer season. This time, however, the entertainment would be provided by the music students of the Académie Provençale des Amis de Stuttgart (Provençal Academy of Friends of Stuttgart), a mouthful meant to convey the tight friendships among the promising French and German musicians of the APAS, which was created over 30 years ago by Stanislas Bogucz, a violist from the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra who had decided to settle in the nearby village of Roussas with his family after having fallen in love with it.
According to the academy’s concentrated training, the dozen students had met for the first time and tirelessly rehearsed during the previous week, and then embarked on an intense week-long tour that was taking them to five different towns to present two different programs. I had assumed that their youth all but guaranteed that they could effortlessly handle the grueling schedule, and sure enough, they all appeared in top shape when we and a large group of music lovers caught up with them half-way through their journey.
On the other hand, the surprise of the evening was that, due to the wildly unpredictable weather that day, the concert location had been moved from the Basilique Sainte-Anne’s beautiful courtyard to its equally beautiful barn, which was a spacious, expertly restored, all-stone music venue. So that’s where we ended up, after a quiet visit to the equally beautiful church that had also been expertly restored, my mom’s typical extreme caution regarding how it would take to get there meaning that we in the end arrived almost an hour early.
I will readily confess that I had no idea who 19th-century French composer and flutist Eugène Walckiers was before last Wednesday evening, and after having thoroughly enjoyed his String Quintet No. 4 in A Major, I can only wonder how come such a talented artist has been neglected for so long. The work did not break any new ground, or make any kind of noticeable splash for that matter, but it was spontaneously engaging and delightfully melodic, and we all happily took it in. Even better, the acoustics proved to be remarkably good for a building that had been designed to store hay.
At the opposite end of the recognition spectrum from Walckiers stood our beloved Papa Haydn and his ever-green Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major, which was in fact the main reason of our presence in Bonlieu-sur-Roubion on a school night. Even if we had heard a terrific performance of the challenging solo part the previous month in Montélimar’s historical collegiate church courtesy of local girl Astrig Siranossian, we were ready, willing and available for another round of it courtesy of Nicolas Hugon, a long-time member of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, in Basilique Sainte-Anne’s slightly less historical barn.
The young man, who looked like a seasoned veteran among the fresh faces surrounding him, proved to be every bit as satisfying a player as his predecessor in Montélimar, and this was by all accounts a tall order to fill. Proficiently backed by an endearingly small but highly motivated orchestra led by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg’s first violinist Hedy Kerpitchian, his thrilling performance was definitely a master class in itself, full of grandeur and virtuosity, but also warmth and earthiness.
After a short intermission, we all returned to our seats for endlessly inquisitive Bela Bluche’s Xiloeta, small suite in trio, for Trumpet, Viola and Bass, which was a short piece that had just been composed by a member of the academy for the academy, and as such had its world première on Wednesday evening. As its full name indicates, Xiloeta featured the unusual trio of trumpet, viola and bass, respectively played by Johannes Eva, Simon Lasserre and Bela Bluche, who separately and jointly came up with decidedly intriguing sounds that kept the audience on their feet the entire time.
Earlier in the month, we had the opportunity to hear the first movement of Brahms’ String Quintet No. 2 in G Major in Le Poët-Laval, which had been a wonderful but ultimately frustrating experience. We wanted it all! Well, it does seem that dream do come true in Drome Provençale in summer, because that’s just what we got on Wednesday night in Bonlieu-sur-Roubion, and it was an even more wonderful experience indeed. Sounding terribly excited to sink their teeth in such a meaty and savory treat, the dynamic ensemble on the stage hit the ground running, occasionally covering the stunning solo cello lines during the first movement in their boundless enthusiasm, and consistently played their hearts out all the way to the Hungarian-flavoured grand finale. Va-va-voom!
But the party was not over yet, as the entire group came back for an inspired hymn-like party favour, for which they all sat in a semi-circle in the middle of which sat Bela Bluche, who produced some dazzling percussion from what looked like a large dome-shaped drum. An unexpected but memorable ending to a very rewarding season.
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