PLG Young Artists Concert

David Childs/Harvey Davies
Purcell Room, London
7th January 2004

Two reviewers went to hear David Childs at the Purcell Rooms in London. These are their impressions.

For 48 years the Park Lane Group (PLG) has been promoting the interests of talented young instrumentalists while simultaneously giving a platform to contemporary music and those who write it. The list of featured composers over the years includes a number whose names will be familiar to those with an interest in the contemporary brass band repertoire – Paul Patterson, John McCabe, Thea Musgrave, Philip Wilby and George Benjamin, for example - while the list of musicians presented by the PLG who have gone on to greater things include John Wallace, Sir Thomas Allen, Steven Isserlis and the Nash Ensemble.

So it was in giants' footsteps that David Childs trod when he appeared at the South Bank's Purcell Room last night. The audience was not particularly large, and it was, I suspect, composed mostly of people who before the evening began were unsure of exactly what a euphonium was. By the end they would have been in no doubt as to the technical capabilities of the instrument, but more importantly, they would have been assured of Childs'absolute musical conviction.

Four pieces – Euphonisms (Elena Firsova), Skunk (Simon Parkin), City in the Sea (Nigel Clarke) and Sonata (Alun Hoddinott) topped and tailed each half, and were complemented with contributions by solo pianist Evelyn Chang. Childs' programme gave him ample scope to demonstrate his prodigious technique – mastery of a huge tonal and dynamic range, dizzyingly fast runs and some wonderful low register glissandi. But it also gave him the opportunity to demonstrate his musicianship, most notably, I thought, in the Hoddinott Sonata. City in the Sea was disappointing only because it turned out to be an abridged version of the one known to brass band listeners, and seemed to me to be a little unbalanced as a result. Skunk, on the other hands, with its jazzy rhythms, proved to be the evening's big crowd-pleaser. Well, gathering-pleaser, anyway. Throughout his performance, Childs received sterling, and at times virtuoso accompaniment from pianist Harvey Davies.

Piano soloist Evelyn Chang played a number of contemporary pieces, all written in the past 15 years, including a rather dour sonata by Alfred Schnittke, and a couple of short works which, despite my admitted enjoyment of ‘modern' music, I found fairly hard-going. It seems unnecessary to detain you with the names of the composers concerned.

As I said, the audience was not particularly large, and I did rather gain the impression that I had wandered into a private soiree – certainly, I have never been at a concert before where so many of the composers (six) are in the auditorium ready to congratulate the performers and acknowledge the applause. But the record of the PLG in picking musicians who will end up playing to larger audiences is proven – and I don't think they have made a mistake with David Childs.

Alec Gallagher

An audience of about 120 gathered at London's prestigious Purcell Room on the South Bank for a joint recital given by David Childs and Harvey Davies
(euphonium & piano) and Evelyn Chang (piano).

The concert was given under the auspices of the Park Lane Group which has been promoting talented young musicians for nearly 50 years. The majority of artists selected this year were pianists, with David and a clarinettist being the only solo wind players chosen to take part.

The music presented in the series is predominantly contemporary, with composers being featured and encouraged to produce new works for the occasion. The recital commenced with one of the new commissions, "Euphonisms for euphonium and piano" by Elena Firsova. Born in Leningrad but now resident in the UK, she has written a cycle of four short pieces,
with the two instruments often answering each other as if commenting on what has been heard, rather than playing as in a conventional duet. Using the
full range of the instrument, she also makes considerable use of allowing the notes of the euphonium to set the strings of the piano resonating.

The second piece includes very lively playing from both soloists, whilst in the third, where the euphonium is muted throughout, long, lyrical phrases are prominent. The programme notes pointed out that "Euphonisms" means a "harmonious speech", and the pieces are certainly attractive as well as challenging, despite the clashes of tonalities and use at times of
twelve-tone techniques.

After piano pieces by John Casken and Alfred Schnittke, entrancingly played by Taiwan-born Evelyn Chang, David returned to the platform to present
"Skunk for euphonium & piano" by Simon Parkin. Premiered by him at the RNCM Festival of Brass in January 2000 both players appeared to revel in the
jazz-rock rhythms and phrasing of this ten-minute piece.

"City in the Sea" was dedicated by composer Nigel Clarke to Robert Childs, who recorded the original version with Black Dyke on the cd "Premiere". The
revised version for euphonium and piano was prepared for David when he entered the BBC Young Musician of the Year 2000. Commencing quietly with
pedal notes, it proceeds to give the soloist the opportunity to demonstrate fully his technique whilst illustrating the legend of demise of the city of Dunwich, including sudden crescendi as if to illustrate Edgar Allen Poe's verse that includes the words: "Lo!? Death has reared himself on a throne".

The solo piano contributions to the second half offered considerable contrast, ranging from a gently lullaby by Elena Langer to the final offering, "Staggering for solo piano" by Ed Bennett, written for Evelyn Chang and given its premiere last year. As with several of the other pieces played, the composers were present to hear their works performed and to receive the acclaim of the audience.

To end the programme, David Childs and Harvey Davies played Alun Hoddinott's "Sonata for euphonium & piano", written for his Wigmore Hall recital last year. It was good to hear the piece a second time, and it did not seem quite so daunting and dark as it had at its premiere. Once again David and his accompanist demonstrated a masterful control of their instruments, with much made of the dynamic contrasts, and remarkably secure pitching and
intonation.

All three performers returned to the stage at the end to receive very warm applause from the audience after a very fine evening's music making. As proud father Robert remarked beforehand, it is good to see the euphonium getting recognition in the musical world beyond brass and wind bands, and with such an exponent as this it is to be hoped that more and more composers will be encouraged to write for it.

Peter Bale

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