Alberto Navarra, Erica Piccotti, Martina Consonni | Chamber recital programme

Nominated to the Classeek programme by world-class flautist Emmanuel Pahud, Alberto Navarra brings a vibrant programme of chamber music to his first rehearsal on the scheme. He is joined by cellist Erica Piccotti and pianist Martina Consonni for Weber’s Trio in G minor, one of the composer’s most substantial chamber pieces. With lively writing for all three instruments and plenty of melodic invention, there are opportunities for each of the musicians to dazzle audiences with their virtuosity. A melancholic, contemplative Allegro moderato gives way to a spirited waltz, before we end with a final movement referred to as Sch?fers Klage (Shepherd’s Complaint or Shepherd’s Lament, an allusion to Goethe’s 1802 poem of the same name).?

We then move on to three works for flute and piano, starting with a piece originally written for clarinet and piano: Schumann’s Fantasiestücke. These have been a staple of the chamber repertoire, transcribed for various instrumentations. The three pieces are almost character studies, with sudden contrasting shifts in mood, moving from inward-looking darkness to light, extroverted buoyancy. The first piece is rather dreamy, with directions for the players to approach ‘tenderly, with expression’. The second piece moves to the major version of the key, in a much more playful, energetic temperament. The final movement stays in this new major key, but with a frenzied energy, pushing the players to their limits for a triumphant ending.

Navarra then moves us on to two prominent pieces within the 20th-century flute repertoire: Poulenc’s Sonata and Frank Martin’s Ballade, both of which have enjoyed further success in well-known orchestrated versions. The Poulenc is almost elegiac in its poignant main theme, infused with the composer’s trademark wit and playfulness. Martin is less well known as a composer, but his Ballade is an essential piece in any flautist’s arsenal. In his early life, he was influenced by French composers, particularly Fauré, before he went on to study with Schoenberg in the 1930s, which inevitably introduced new approaches to composition. The blend of these vastly different styles became Martin’s trademark, which you can hear in his Ballade –?a piece with no real tonal centre but plenty of lyricism.?

You can watch Alberto, Erica and Martina's live-streamed chamber concert at 20:00 CET on 10th May via?www.classeek.com.

Programme notes by Freya Parr