I’ve just had a wonderful time at the latest concert (09/02/25) presented by the Milverton Concert Society – no change there, they always provide music of the highest order played by top class musicians of every possible genre. What made this one so special was how the many aspects of the afternoon all meshed together to illustrate what a wonderful web of music-making prevails in this part of the county and just how many brilliant people have worked together to build and maintain this marvellous edifice over the years. It was billed as a “Young Professionals Concert” and we heard from four wonderfully talented young musicians who are all in the very early stages of what I am sure will be successful professional careers.

However none of these young stars just fell out of a cloudless sky – we have watched them in years past as they have learned their craft and put in the countless hours of hard work, supported by teachers and mentors who themselves are just as much a part of the musical scene in the area and are well known to every music lover in the county.

Ella Leonard (Oboe) has long been a part of the Taunton Festival of the Arts and has won the Taunton Young Musician award. She started off the afternoon with two movements from the fascinating ‘Evocations for Oboe’ by French composer Henri Tomasi, written in 1969. The opening ‘Peruvienne’ with its cheeky, insouciant introduction leading to more impassioned phrases, caught our attention immediately, Ella handling the contrasting moods wonderfully. Both pieces challenged the player with quicksilver changes of dynamics, timbre and intensity and she rose to the occasion.

Poulenc’s Sonata for Oboe (1962) saw pianist Andrew Trewhella join the proceedings – another big link in the network I am talking about. He has been a massive part of the county’s musical scene for thirty years, as Head of Music at Wellington School, lately Musical Director of the Amici choir and as an integral part of so much of the performing arts scene around us. Their performance of this sonata was a real musical partnership. In the first movement (‘Elegie’) both exploited the wide dynamic range beautifully and always produce a lovely ensemble sound. In the very animated ‘Scherzo’ movement they obviously enjoyed this exuberant gallop, displaying terrific dexterity. The 3rd movement ‘Déploration’ explores the full tonal range of the oboe and Ella produced a lovely, plangent sound in the lower register. A most enjoyable performance, but just once or twice I might have hoped for a little more projection – Ella makes a lovely sound and has no need to be so reticent at times.

Her programme came to a lovely finish with Hamilton Harty’s ‘Chansonette’, a salon piece written in 1911. After the unusual piano intro we heard the beautiful pastoral quality of the oboe opening beautifully conveyed as were the more impassioned middle sections. The piece closed in lovely tranquillity. Present in the audience was Di Jerrold, Ella’s teacher, a leading light in the Milverton Concert Society and still involved in the Festival. (Network!)

Any mention of the Taunton Festival of the Arts must call to mind the enormous contribution to that endeavour made by that musical powerhouse, the late and much missed Brian Cresswell, whose daughter Josephine was our next performer. Soprano Josie presented a wonderfully varied programme in a true collaboration with Andrew. She had put together a programme based around the idea of sleep and dreams, starting with Handel’s ‘O Sleep’ from his opera ‘Semele’ followed by the Dew Fairy’s song from ‘Hansel und Gretel’. Two very contrasting songs, but both beautifully delivered.

Ivor Gurney’s ‘Come Sleep’ was next, an introspective piece. The text talks about Gurney’s longing to live inside his dreams, as for him reality was sometimes too much to bear; this is seen particularly in the phrase, ‘lock me in delight a while’. The song covers a wide tonal range and in this performance Josie showed total mastery, with no discernible ‘break’ in her voice (passagio) – a truly lovely sound. ‘Beim Schlafengehen’ (On going to sleep) is one of Richard Strauss’s ‘Four Last Songs’ – a particular favourite of mine, and one which I want at my memorial service! In her spoken introduction Josie said that the text was one of calm acceptance of the approaching end. Maybe so, but her impassioned performance also contained a hint of ‘rage against the dying of the light’. The central passage for solo violin in the orchestral version is notoriously difficult to bring off on the piano, but Andrew did us proud. The Countess’s song ‘Porgi Amor’ from Mozart’s ‘Marriage of Figaro’ was next. Josie has played the part in this opera and she captured the sadness of the Countess to perfection. She ended with a beguiling performance of ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’ – all in all a wonderful contribution to the evening. Josie is now co-chair of Somerset Opera, an organisation founded by her father and one which has kept the performance of live opera firmly a part of our musical scene. There’s that network again!

After the interval, the wine and the cheesy breadsticks, we had another two top-class performers.

Otis Ubaka reminded us of just what a flexible and enjoyable instrument the saxophone can be in the hands of an accomplished musician. He is a young man (22), Taunton-born, who is making a great impact as both player and composer. The sound he made was truly beautiful, mellow and soulful for the most part, but with incisive edge and ‘poke’ when the music demanded. We heard six of his own pieces with electronic backing tracks. These were all on a small scale but each contained a wealth of ideas. They were all free-form pieces, in places almost improvisational, but in fact we could hear that they were very carefully constructed and the combination of his instrument and the backings gave us very clear statements of the intended mood – ‘chill’, ‘serious’, ‘funky’ and the like.

He ended his slot with terrific renderings of well known ‘classics – George Michael’s ‘Careless Whisper’ and the evergreen ’Fly Me To the Moon’ (Bart Howard) made famous by Sinatra and given a lovely outing here by Otis. This was a real pleasure and we thank him for entertaining us so well.

Victoria Creighton (Flute) who has also figured in the Festival’s competition scene in years past brought the concert to a triumphant close. Prokofiev’s Op. 94 Sonata for Flute (not Op. 19 as printed in the programme) was written during WW2 when the composer was struggling with his opera based on ‘War and Peace’ (no surprise there!). Premiered in 1943 it is one of his sunnier compositions in contrast to the earlier Violin Sonata. Victoria and Andrew made a lovely job of the work’s occasionally pungent harmonies and also blended beautifully in the more serene passages.

Benjamin Godard’s Suite de Trois Morceaux Op. 116 contains a wonderful, free-flowing and exciting ‘Valse’ calling for great agility and technical assurance. This we got in spades from Victoria, her virtuosity making our jaws drop – how can so many notes be produced in so short a time? The applause was long and well deserved. Victoria had announced that there would be ‘a little extra’ in the programme and that she would be playing it for her grandmother Barbara Creighton (in the audience and a long time supporter of the Milverton Concert Society). The afternoon came to a lovely end with Victoria’s flawless performance of Elgar’s lovely ‘Salut d’Amour’.

The audience was full of the Great and the Good from the Taunton music scene hence my ramblings about the interconnections represented there that afternoon. In addition to the specifics I have already mentioned, I saw people associated with Taunton Choral Society, the Somerset Song Prize, In Ecclesia, Collegium Singers, The Taunton Sinfonietta and others. Teachers, players, helpers, administrators and ordinary music lovers were all there, and it gladdened my heart to be a small part of such a rewarding network serving the greatest of the arts, music.

Review by Harold W. Mead

The November concert from Milverton Concert Society featured a piano recital by the Kazakhstan-born Alim Beisembayev, winner of the 2021 Leeds Piano competition, and now an international star. With the signs of winter to come, Milverton Church was warm and inviting, and a large audience was given a real treat. Alim opened with Haydn, the ‘Variations in F Minor’. Works from that era always have an extra level of difficulty for today’s pianists, in that the instruments for which they were written are a far cry from the percussive powerhouse which is the modern concert grand. From the start Alim had things perfectly under control. The measured statement of the opening theme was crystal clear and elegant, thanks to minimal use of the pedal and scrupulous attention to line and dynamics.

Variation 1 was elegant, and the lovely legato demonstrated in the minor-key variation 2 was exquisite. When the texture became heavier and more complex in Variation 4, Alim maintained his clarity and the more elaborate development of the theme was played with great finesse. The return to an introspective mood in the coda was beautifully done, and we got a real sense of peace and finality at the end, after the more robust middle section – a great start to the evening.

The three sonatas forming Beethoven’s Opus 10 are early works dating from 1796 when the composer was in his twenties. That said they have great emotional depth and make significant technical demands on the pianist. Number 3 in D major was given a vigorous and forthright treatment by Alim, who once again showed his ability to keep the sound clear and focused. The phrase ‘controlled exuberance’ came into my mind! The D Minor slow movement opens with a sense of foreboding , but it soon turned to a feeling of solace and calm. The more dramatic second subject with its almost playful right hand interjections was beautifully played with great control of dynamics. The graceful Menuetto of the 3rd movement was just that, graceful and elegant in Alim’s hands and the joyful, free-spirited finale brought the first half of the concert to a brilliant conclusion.

After the obligatory wine and cheesy breadsticks (a MCS trademark!), Alim returned to announce a change to the published programme. He said that while rehearsing that afternoon, the acoustic of the church seemed to him very suitable for Debussy, and he decided to replace the planned Haydn Sonata with the three pieces of the French composer’s ‘Images’ Book 2. The first of these “Bells Through the Leaves” was inspired by the sound of the Javanese gamelan and it does indeed have a bell-like texture. Alim did a lovely job with the shimmering texture, fronds of sound making a curtain of sound. Number 2, “The Moon Descending Over the Temple” presents an austere soundscape and one can indeed imagine a 3rd-quarter Moon dipping down perhaps into mist, just before dawn. The last of the three “Goldfish” is the most frequently played and Alim really brought out the musical colours suggestive of the iridescent scales of the exotic fish. The music involves sudden changes of direction like a fish in a tank, and Alim’s articulation never faltered, even in the more heavily-textured passages in the coda.

Back to the published programme and Schumann’s well-loved “Scenes of Childhood” (“Kinderszenen” Opus 15). This set of thirteen piano miniatures never fails to delight, and I put my pen down, confident that Alim would delight me. I wasn’t wrong. Many of these pieces (not all!) are technically undemanding, but as is so often the case, interpretation can be challenging. Alim sailed through them all with great aplomb, showing masterly control of dynamics and expression, even in the most intense passages.

The programme ended with Brahms’s Variations on a Theme of Paganini Book 1. Brahms was nothing like that great pianistic showman Liszt, but when he decided to write music which was technically difficult he didn’t mess around! The theme in question is the famous one so memorably arranged by not just Brahms but also Rachmaninov and even Julian Lloyd-Webber (think South Bank Show). Aim’s performance was a tour-de-force – he coped with the fierce demands of syncopated rhythms, singing melodic lines, sweeping arpeggios, intricate counterpoint and grandiose gestures making it all sound easy. The applause at the end was long, loud and thoroughly deserved – an encore was definitely called for.

He announced “Rachmaninov – Prelude in G (YESS!!!) Major (Oh)”. Not that there’s anything wrong with the G Major one – I just prefer the one in G Minor. That said he produced a gorgeous limpid sound, the intricate figurations beautifully done.

As usual from MCS, a great evening of great music.

Review by Harold W. Mead

No, not the ‘Hornblower’ novel by C.S. Forester, but the welcome return to the Milverton Concert Society’s orbit of the Marmen Quartet, whose first appearance was all of five years ago. On that occasion they were a last-minute emergency replacement for the Vision Quartet – this time it was delightful to have them back in a more planned and leisurely fashion. Johannes Marmen and Laia Valentin Braun (violins), Bryony Gibson-Cornish (viola) and Sinead O’Halloran (‘cello) presented a programme of very contrasting music, spanning centuries and styles.

They opened with Haydn’s Quartet in E Flat Op. 33 No.2 and I was instantly stunned by the glorious warmth and depth of their ensemble sound. The texture was crystal clear and the church was filled with a volume of music which totally belied the fact that there were only four players. The tempo ebbed and flowed beautifully, but under perfect control – a much more difficult thing to achieve than to play with a metronomic beat. This movement, although built from small melodic fragments, flowed seamlessly from instrument to instrument, making it seem like one continuous musical phrase. Then we had the almost rustic opening theme of the Scherzo Allegro second movement, and the players’ handling of the dynamic contrasts was wonderful. I was particularly amused by Johannes’s almost jokey playing of the swoops on the first notes of phrases, beautifully done.

Haydn’s mastery of expressive, slow themes was equalled by the quartet’s beautifully balanced playing. The violins made minimal use of vibrato, which avoided making the wistful and serene tunes sound too saccharine. There were passionate undertones in places, but the overall effect was one of tranquillity. The last movement is the one which gives this work its nickname “The Joke”. The sparkly opening was beautifully articulated by all players, and the development of the movement was full of bubbly wit. Haydn’s joke at the end (several empty bars to make you believe the work had ended) didn’t fool the knowledgeable Milverton audience one bit – we all clapped (enthusiastically) in the right place!

The next work offered a staggering stylistic contrast to the Haydn – Bartok’s third string quartet from 1927 – powerful, jagged, trenchant, even brutal in places. The structure of the work is unconventional – ostensibly in two parts themselves divided, but played more or less as one continuous movement. Starting with mysterious, sinuous themes it morphs into a stormy, passionate section, using strange sonic effects in places. I don’t know if Bartok was familiar with Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” but there were tonal and phrasing echoes of that work in places. The work then enters a dance-like mode, but the intensity of the ensemble playing was stunning. Some virtuoso pizzicato from the ‘cello made my jaw drop, and the rhythmically jagged second section was awesome, both in its raw power and in the players’ tightness of control, even in the most brutalistic passages.

The very slow introspective middle section could have lost focus, but in fact it was rigidly controlled and never sagged. Again, the sheer technical prowess shown in the stormy conclusion to the work was amazing. This was not a comfortable listen, but the Marmen Quartet turned it into a tour de force.

After the interval (with the obligatory cheese straws) we were once again transported to a very different musical landscape. The elegant and refined 1903 quartet by Ravel is very French, a mixture of romance and impressionism.

It opens with a pastoral timbre, dreamy, impressionistic with harmonies reminiscent of Delius, but very definitely not English. A lyrical viola theme was taken up by the violins, then leading to an impassioned outburst before tranquillity was restored. As was the case throughout the evening, all of these changes in tempo, dynamics and phrasing were scrupulously controlled, all four instruments playing as one. The second movement’s joyful opening pizzicato figures were beautifully articulated with real power – the trio section on muted strings flowed with great beauty.

The third movement is very French, with phrases which could have been penned by Debussy. The use of high harmonics on the violins was very effective, and the whole movement was one of restrained emotion, perfectly controlled. The fourth movement opened explosively, full of driving energy. We heard early themes re-visited but this time infused with extra energy and urgency. The many changes of tempo and dynamics were handled with great aplomb and the closing passages were exhilarating.

No more to say really – an evening of first class music making, thoroughly enjoyed by all, including I am certain the Marmen Quartet. Welcome back – we’d like you to come again!

Review by Harold W. Mead

The February concert of the Milverton Concert Society featured the violin and piano skills of the husband and wife team Elena Urioste and Tom Poster, both of whom had previously been solo performers at previous MCS concerts. And what a superb concert it was. They had based the programme on works which ‘deserved to be better known’ and their advocacy was very powerful.

Opening the evening was Mendelssohn’s Violin Sonata in F major, written in 1838. A powerfully declamatory piano opening was matched by an equally forthright entry from Elena’s violin. Brilliant cascades of notes from the piano were then matched by the violin – the balance between the two instruments was good for the most part, but for a while there was a slight tendency for the piano to dominate the texture on occasions. By the time they had reached the beautifully played reflective dialogue of the middle section of the movement, the balance was much better. The triumphant charge to the coda was exhilarating, and managed to combine a sense of complete abandon although it was obvious that the whole thing was under firm and perfect control. In the second movement, opened by sonorous piano chords, the soulful violin melody over rippling piano arpeggios was truly lovely. The obvious rapport between the players was beautifully demonstrated here.

The final third movement is typical headlong Mendelssohn, galloping along exuberantly. It requires tip-top articulation from both instruments and this we got in spades! Elena and Tom were totally involved with each other and the music – this was a fusion of two minds driving four hands in perfect synchronicity and it was sheer joy to listen to.

I confess to knowing nothing about French composer Mel Bonis before this concert, and was looking forward to hearing her Violin Sonata in F Sharp Minor. Although being in a minor key the opening had a bright timbre, probably because of the three sharps in the key signature. There was a definite 20th century feel to the first movement, although there were occasional outbursts of the kind of lush romanticism associated with the 19th. If it could be said to have a ‘French’ sound, it was probably because there were odd hints of Franck and Fauré in some of the phrases. The slow movement was characterised by short, fugitive passages exchanged between the instruments, separated by more reflective moments. Elena’s playing was very soulful, especially in the passages which had an eastern European timbre, reminiscent of Ravel’s ‘Tzigane’ at points.

The finale opened with piano carillons and pizzicato phrases from Elena. I have to say that I found this movement to be less coherent, in that it dotted around a wide range of musical styles – there were bits of Spain, the Middle East, back to flamenco and even a couple of reminiscences of ‘Scheherezade’, but it didn’t totally hang together to my ears. Nevertheless it was interesting to hear something unfamiliar presented with such obvious enthusiasm.

After the interval, the main lights in the church were put out, hence the title of this review. It meant that (a) the audience couldn’t read my (excellent) programme notes and (b) I couldn’t see to write anything down! It did however focus our attention on the players, no bad thing.

In these days we are seeing a great deal of attention being paid to hitherto neglected female composers, the American Amy Beach (1867–1944) being a case in point. Her 1893 Romance Op. 23 is a work well-named – it is full of expressive tunes and rich harmonies. Elena and Tom gave it the full romantic treatment, delicate at times but deeply passionate at others. The composer’s ability to be both tender and fervent was matched by the players – I was entranced by how deeply they both obviously felt the depths of the music.

The last item on the programme was announced by Tom as being one of those pieces whose chances of being encountered in a concert were very low! Greig wrote three violin sonatas and No. 1 is hardly ever programmed. I can’t think why – based on this performance it deserves to be heard more often. It got off to a glorious start, Elena’s violin soaring over equally lyrical piano. Once again the two players were technically and emotionally at one, matching tempo, dynamics and expression in a demanding piece. It might have been written as a duet, but it is almost concerto-like in places.

Greig had a great talent for writing reflective music, and the second movement with its poignant violin melody over Tom’s beautifully restrained piano chords was a real highlight.

The finale was a joy from start to finish – dance-like figures, exuberantly played with great energy from both players. The balance and ensemble never faltered no matter how demanding the passages and although an early work this sonata clearly showed Grieg’s mastery as a composer. With advocates like Tom and Elena the piece deserves more performances.

The applause at the end guaranteed an encore – there was no way they were going to escape! What we heard was magical – Tom’s own arrangement of the classic “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” (Maschwitz/Sherwin). This was gorgeous – a pin dropping would have been deafening, so enraptured were we all. What a brilliant end to a brilliant evening of music making. Milverton Concert Society did it again – as we have come to expect.

Review by Harold W. Mead

Milverton Concert Society’s most recent concert once more featured one of the musically stunning Kanneh-Mason ‘clan’, pianist Jeneba. This amazingly gifted family is one the jewels of the UK music scene, and MCS are to be congratulated for allowing us the privilege of hearing them on several occasions so far.

Jeneba is the third member of the family to be pursuing a solo career after ‘cellist Sheku and pianist Isata. She obtained a full scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in 2020 and has already appeared at the BBC Proms and with the CBSO. Her programme in Milverton was a bold one, including some works which are not immediately ‘comfortable’ listening.

Shostakovich’s Prelude and Fugue in D, Op. 87 No. 5 has an introspective start, and Jeneba’s treatment of the rippling arpeggios was lovely. I was particularly appreciative of her expert use of the pedal, never allowing the texture to become muddied in any way. (This applied to her entire performance – the clarity of line she exhibited throughout was exemplary). The fugue starts with a ‘call to attention’ of repeated notes and then she was off! This section is lively and buoyant in contrast to the contemplative prelude and Jeneba showed that she was in complete accord with the composer’s ability to evoke a range of emotions within a single work. She managed to play with total precision without sounding in the slightest way mechanical. This was a brilliant start to the evening.

I was not familiar with any music by American composer William Grant Still and his ‘Three Visions’ was next. The first, ‘Dark Horsemen’ lets us hear the eponymous hoof beats punctuated by anguished cries from the upper register of the piano – Jeneba’s control of tempo and dynamics was just right and although not easy listening at times she allowed the work to make its full impact. In complete contrast the second Vision, ‘Summerland’, was peaceful and wistful. In style, it was as if Debussy and Delius had cooperated after listening to some Aaron Copland! There was a definite American flavour (should that be ‘flavor’?) to the sound, and it was played with real affection.

The third piece, ‘Radiant Pinnacle’ a musical aspiration to a better future, uses a steady stream of upward-leading arpeggios and chords, with a constantly changing tonality, not rooted in any key. Jeneba’s playing was urgent within a controlled and flowing framework – she obviously relates to this music and her commitment showed.

The first half of the concert ended with the stark, almost brutal sound of Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 7, the second of what are called his ‘war sonatas’. Jeneba’s projection of the angular, spiky phrases, the un-nerving fragments of themes in quick succession was absolutely spot on – we’re not supposed to feel at ease listening to this music. The second subject seemed at first to bring some calm but this was superficial and short-lived, the feeling of menace returning with brilliantly played marcato/staccato passages. The second movement brings an almost comforting melody in E Major at first, but tension soon starts to build and her playing of the maestoso climax was glorious. Jeneba showed her complete immersion in the moods of this piece, nowhere more so in the utterly ferocious final movement. This is rhythmically terrifying but not a note was out of place and we heard a virtuoso performance of the highest order. The interval allowed us to breathe again!

Although a relatively early work, Beethoven’s 7th sonata is very forward-looking. The composer was experimenting with his art and moving away from the more conventional Haydn-esque works he had written previously. The first movement once again demonstrated Jeneba’s fabulous articulation and clarity of line. The slow movement starts with a gloomy theme of foreboding but a calmer passage follows and Jeneba allowed the relief to come through before the darkness once more asserted itself. The third movement brought a revival of optimism and we heard once more a beautiful clarity of line in the fast central passages.

The finale brings a real liberation of spirit, the whole thing build on a foundation of a simple 3-note motif. Articulation, tempo and control of dynamics were all perfect and Jeneba brought the piece to a joyful climax.

The evening ended with Debussy’s 1903 group of three pieces called ‘Estampes’ (‘Prints’ or ‘Engravings’). The first, ‘Pagodas’ really did evoke the Far East with is gamelan-like arpeggios and oriental mode phrases. Jeneba really did make the temple bells ring out. ‘An Evening in Granada’ manages to evoke the Iberian culture but avoids the more obvious clichés of the ‘Spanish’ sound. Her playing did convey the heat and passion of the country.

‘Gardens in the Rain’ could not have been written by anyone other than Debussy. The limpid, fast rippling phrases perfectly express his impressionist musical style and Jeneba’s fantastic control of tempo, phrasing, dynamics and articulation were jaw-dropping. I found myself wondering how many tens of thousands of neurons must having been firing and fizzing in her brain to make those fingers perform such incredible feats. The final cascade of notes was amazing!

Naturally there was no way on Earth that the audience was going to stop applauding until we got an encore, and that too was cracker. Chopin’s Etude Op. 10, No. 4 is known as ‘The Torrent’ etude, and the name is perfect for the fantastic stream of brilliantly played notes which Jeneba unleashed on us. What a truly amazing young performer and it was a privilege for all of us to be in her company.

Review by Harold W. Mead