This concert featured wind instruments – Verity Quarmby on oboe, Tamsin Curror on clarinet, Shelley Wilson on bassoon and Bob Shaw on French horn, with Antony Brannick on piano. Verity Quarmby and Antony Brannick began with the Elegie from Poulenc’s sonata for oboe and piano. The oboe suited the exotic melodies in this piece. Then Antony Brannick played Liszt’s wistful ‘Gretchen’ from his Faust symphony. Mozart’s horn concerto no 1, in which Antony Brannick accompanied Bob Shaw, did not feature the well known horn tune, but was bright and cheerful.
In the second half Antony Brannick began with three Grieg pieces from Opus 12, the jolly ‘Elf’s Dance’, the atmospheric ‘Folk Melody’ and the assertive ‘Norwegian Melody’.
The concert finished with a Beethoven quintet for piano and winds (Opus 16). Different instruments were foregrounded in turn, showing the art of the players. The piece began with a formal tune but moved to a lighter mood and a sudden triumphant ending.