As well as Antony Brannick on piano, this concert featured duets by Rachael Gibbon on clarinet and Maxine Moline Rose on harp: two rich-toned but contrasting instruments.
The concert opened with a sparkling performance by Antony Brannick of Ravel’s sensual “Sonatine” with its smoky chords.
The harp and clarinet then took over, with an adaptation of the tuneful aria “Una voce poco fa” from Rossini’s opera “The Barber of Seville”. Next came a suite from music for TV, Paul Reade’s serene “The Victorian Kitchen Garden”. L M Tedeschi’s “Serenade” flowed and rippled.
The duo returned after the interval with John Marson’s tranquil “Arcadian Sketches” and Howard Buss’s flowing “Seaside Reflections.” Antony Brannick returned to the piano for a sensitive performance of Erik Satie’s hypnotic “Gnossienne” no 3.
The evening concluded triumphantly with another harp and clarinet duet: harpist Skaila Kanga’s “Six American Sketches”. These warm and melodious pieces had a definite American feel.
The next concert features Beethoven’s work, with violinist Jonathan Whitehead. It is at 7.30 pm, March 7th, at the same venue.