During the Seven Bridges Festival, from 29 September to 4 October, you could enjoy chamber music concerts in beautiful historic buildings in Amsterdam. One concert, on 1 October, we highlight. In Museum Geelvinck Hinlopen sounded compositions by Haydn and Beethoven. These included a straining Haydn sonata on pianoforte grand piano and splashing 'Folk Songs' by Van Beethoven by expressive soprano Katharine Dain.
Through the Geelvinck Museum's main entrance on Keizergracht, you entered the main building with period rooms through a beautifully landscaped garden. Harpsichords and other fortepianos were everywhere in the museum-appointed rooms. Portraits of previous residents adorned the coloured walls.
In the concert hall, the seats were all occupied with, I think, many foreign listeners. Organising pianist Edward Janning assumed we understood English, and in his brief introduction he told us that the promised Stodart fortepiano had been replaced by one by the builder Joseph Böhm. For the visitor, that was no big deal. It did for keyboardist Carsten Schmidt, who audibly struggled with this instrument. Joseph Haydn's Sonata in C-sharp minor, an upbeat work and a technical masterpiece, was played stiffly at first. A beautifully executed middle movement with plenty of expression and colour was followed by Menuetto moderato. This did not sound how it should have sounded, namely compelling.
Then the Trio for clarinet, cello and piano in B-flat, opus 11 (Gassenhauer) by Ludwig van Beethoven. This was put down a lot more briskly than the previous one. The infectious cello work of Jan Bastiaan Neven and the solid clarinet playing of Frank van den Brink outshone Janning at the pianoforte each time. Beautiful and fresh were their virtuoso melody repeats in the first movement. In the second movement, the clarinet sometimes stepped into the foreground a little too much. This light-hearted work, which ended with a happy dance, eventually gave Janning the space to regain his status with a beautiful and recognisable piano theme.
The American soprano Katharine Dain With its six Irish and Scottish folk songs by Van Beethoven was the highlight on this evening. This singing talent with a warm timbre was accompanied on fortepiano, violin and cello. She gave a nice introduction to each song. The fun sparkled off the expressive performance. Sometimes the sound of the chamber ensemble overwhelmed her volume, forcing her to turn on certain accents a little less subtly. This was also due to the relatively small space in which her pleasant soprano voice somewhat precipitated. Very colourful was the Scottish song she performed: Once more I hail thee. A melancholic song about a lost love. Balancedly performed and full of poignancy.
Then the closing work: String Quartet in B-flat, opus 76, (Sonnenaufgang). Maaike Aarts on second violin and Ásdis Valdimarsdóttir on viola joined cello and first violin. The opening melody for violin has a swelling character in volume. Like the light at sunrise. This beginning did not warm you up at all. The first violin sounded slightly agitated. Later, this agitation eased, although it returned in the last movement. Aarts and Valdimarsdóttir formed a powerful duo amidst the gentlemen, keeping the unity of the ensemble well intact. The second-to-last movement, Allegro, was played cheerfully and it was a pity we could not hop.
Want to listen to more early music? You can from 8 to 25 October at the Geelvinck Fortepiano Festival in Amsterdam and other locations. www.geelvinckfestival.nl
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