Classical: Doing Dvorak proud

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL LONDON

SUNDAY'S TRIO of "International Chamber Music" recitals at the Queen Elizabeth Hall ought to have been packed to capacity. The repertory was top-notch, and the performances highly accomplished; there was an imaginative film, an enlightening lecture - and the music was by Antonin Dvorak. The attentive gathering, however, was relatively small and mostly middle-aged. Which is a shame, given that Dvorak's music has the right ingredients for an enthusiastic young audience. It's tuneful, innovative, rhythmically alive, direct and appreciative of indigenous cultures - especially Afro and Native Americans.

First to sound in this seven-hour "Bohemian Rhapsody" was the glorious but little-known String Sextet, a storehouse of interesting musical ideas. Stephanie Gonley played a sweet-toned first violin, warmly supported by violinist Harvey de Souza, violists Timothy Boulton and Louise Williams, and cellists Timothy Gill and Steven Doane. Richard Lester of the Florestan Trio had been scheduled to play cello both in the Sextet and in the Second Piano Quintet, but could not due to the birth of his son, Joel. Lester was back with the Florestan for a strongly stated account of Dvorak's greatest chamber work, his F minor Piano Trio.

Their CD of the piece is very good, but this was better - more dashing, and more at one with the almost desperate arguments that dominate most of the first movement. Earlier, violinist Anthony Marwood treated us to the winsome Four Romantic Pieces, but his playing in the Trio seemed more candidly responsive.

The documentary centre-piece of the Rhapsody was an absorbing film by Lucille Carra and Brian Cotnoir entitled Dvorak in America, with vintage shots of Prague, New York and Chicago, spoken quotations from Dvorak's letters and sundry interviews. Better still was Professor Jan Smaczny's thought-provoking talk about the "life and works", homing in on potential creative routes that, had they been followed, might have led to Czech variants on Debussy, Strauss or Schoenberg. Perhaps the fact that Dvorak didn't follow them helps explain why he is still denigrated in some quarters as "lightweight". The F minor Trio should surely scotch such arguments for good, though the "American" style E flat String Quintet that followed the talk could as easily support them.

As to the rest of the series, Moravian Duets and Gipsy Songs were shared between contralto Hilary Summers and soprano Helene Wold. Eugene Asti was their painstaking accompanist, whereas the Florestan's pianist Susan Tomes returned for the popular Second Piano Quintet. Tomes's finely shaded handling of the Scherzo's trio was a particular joy.

That Dvorak was a master of melody and orchestral colour is widely acknowledged; but that he was a truly great composer is something that the next century is duty-bound to confirm.

Rob Cowan