Friday Music, a little oasis amongst the noise and bustle of Sydney

St Stephen’s Friday Music

13 May, 2022

Richard Rourke (clarinet)
Andrew Hines (violoncello)
Alan Hicks (pianoforte)

Dance Preludes for clarinet and piano – Witold Lutoslawski (1913 – 1994)
The Limpid Stream Op 39 for cello and piano – Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 – 1975) (Arr Atovmyan)
Trio Op 11 for Clarinet Cello and Piano – Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)

The recent Friday Music recital at St Stephen’s allowed members of the Opera Australia Orchestra, Richard Rourke, Andrew Hines and Alan Hicks to break free of the confines of a large ensemble to perform engaging and at times virtuosic chamber music and all the time showing great joy. Decades of musical experience was the foundation of performances of such depth, clarity and musical imagination. I have known the beautiful clarinet playing of Richard Rourke for many years and this, my first introduction to the musicianship of Andrew Hines and Alan Hicks was a delight.

The still as fresh as ever Dance Preludes (composed in 1954) for clarinet and piano by the Polish master Lutoslawski sparkled and fizzed in all the right places and the playing was appropriately soft and gentle and inward looking when required. Great ensemble work from Rourke and Hicks.

The cello and piano work The Limpid Stream Op 39 by Shostakovich is a very romantic work and Hines and Hicks gave it an impassioned reading.

The three players came together for the Beethoven Trio Op 11 and they had obvious fun performing the intricate and demanding score and particularly the breakneck speed sections. At times the extreme softness was breathtaking and when a moment later, in typical Beethoven fashion, a full fortissimo jumped out one sensed that the trio were having a ball.

I enjoyed the whole concert and as I was leaving the church I heard comments like, ‘I wish there was more’ and then, ‘I loved the cello and piano work’. The good-sized audience were all smiles. Music clubs and organisations like The Mozart Society could well be advised to engage this trio in the nearest future.

Directed by Mark Quarmby, Friday Music is a little oasis amongst the noise and bustle of Sydney. His vision is to create a varied series of recitals that start at 1pm and on the last Friday of each month there is an organ performance. Fantastic musicians play there throughout the year and I love the informality of it all. It is suggested that audience members donate $10. A worthy cause indeed.

St Stephen’s Friday Music program 2022