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Oxford Philomusica play Schubert at the Sheldonian Theatre

 26th February 2008 
It is always exciting to hear young performers who hope to become professional musicians, and it is for this reason that I gladly arrived an hour early for the Oxford Philomusica's latest concert. Unfortunately, either for reasons of apathy or ignorance, this view did not seem to be taken by most of the rest of the audience. Thus it was that Chris Terepin, a sixth-former at Magdalen College School, performed Brahms' E minor Cello Sonata to a mostly empty Sheldonian. Occasionally Terepin’s efforts to achieve the correct notes obscured the emotional intensity that this romantic masterwork requires, but in general this was an excellent performance.  Mention must also be made of his accompanist, Adrienne Black, who played discretely and diligently but asserted the piano's natural dominance when the music required it. 
The rest of the audience entered for two of Schubert's longer works, the 'Trout' Quintet and the 9th Symphony (The Great). At this point I must confess that I am not a fan of the 'Trout' in general (it may have something to do with being forced to learn 'Die Forelle' as a young tenor), but the performance was well-poised and diligent, if a little piano-heavy at first.  It captured the seductive charm and effortless grace of Schubert's music and succeeded in giving the piece an identity beyond the famous theme of its fourth movement. 

After the interval the orchestra moved on to the symphony. This was a work that I did not know well, but the orchestra’s rendition certainly sold it to me: the whole piece was entirely charming and pleasant, from the serene beauty juxtaposed with 'Sturm und Drang' in the first movement, via the dainty slow movement and lively scherzo to the brilliante-style finale. My only criticism would be that the slow movement lost some of its momentum and further suffered from some slight mishaps in the brass section. This said, the faster movements were perfectly controlled and the balance between the sections was beautifully managed, allowing the dynamic contrast to have a stunning effect throughout. 

All in all, the concert was well worth braving a cold night to enjoy, but it would have been nice to see more support for the Young Artists' Platform. 

by Simon Ogdon

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