Music for a While: Scholl and Allhoff at Schloss Elmau

Chamber Music Festivals: Kammermusicwoche Schloss Elmau

Schloss Elmau

Klais Bahnhof

                                                                         Leaving Garmisch Partenkirchen , a short train journey through the Wettersteiner Mountains  brings you to  Klais,  Bavaria's  highest station. From here it is a five minute taxi ride to Schloss Elmau. I made the excursion from my base at Garmisch last week to hear an extraordinary artist. Here is my festival report of an evening at Kammermusikwoche.61

Schloss Elmau is an Alpine resort hidden away in rural Bavaria, 60 miles south of Munich. In the uber-swish hotel, that will host the next G7 summit, the lighting is subdued, the lounge room musak is of a superior laconic quality and the book shop is full of weighty tomes on science and politics. You wouldn't be surprised to see Frau Merkel in the corner de-stressing after a week of keeping the show on the road at the Reichstag. 

Live music is a major feature and during a week in January, the hotel  assembles an A list roster of star classical performers for a week of  concerts to please and soothe the pains of guests after a heavy day on the slopes or at the eye watering spas. This year, Dutch violinist Janine Jansen appeared here before her sold out recital at London’s Wigmore Hall. I made an excursion to hear the celebrated counter-tenor Andreas Scholl perform not the German Baroque repertoire for which he is best known but a programme of English songs.

Scholl Halperin at Schloss Elmau

Konzertsaal Schloss Elmau

The lachrymose programme opened and closed in the Renaissance. The pathos of a pair of tear stained lute songs by John Dowland mingled with mirth of a Jacobean ditty by Thomas Campion. After the cleansing sorbet of a Bach Prelude sensitively played by pianist Tamar Halperin, came the serenity of Purcell’s, Music for a While and Evening Hymn. Benjamin Britten’s arrangements of familiar folksongs included WB Yeats’ The Salley Gardens. The gentle songs were wrapped around poignant sentiments of regret and despair in settings by Haydn of poems by Anne Hunter from his London sojourn. Scholl throughout had a genial stage manner speaking to the audience in German. For an encore he gave us another bite of Britten in the simple ‘I Will Give My Love an Apple’ . A photograph in the hall reminded us that Benjamin Britten and counter tenor Peter Pears performed here in 1959.

The countertenor voice is a musical high wire act, an enthralling blend of strength and fragility.  The impossibly beautiful tones of Herr Scholl, seemed to drop effortlessly down from another world entirely to a rapt audience in the Konzertsaal at Schloss Elmau and music  did indeed  ‘for a while, all our cares beguile’.   Wunderbar!

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(Most of the programme can be heard on the Grammy nominated Purcell album ‘O Solitude’ 2010 and English Folk Songs and Lute Songs (1996)

No Irish dates listed but several London dates in 2015).

listen to ‘elmau piano 2’ on audioBoom

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Scholl wasn't the only class act at the schloss that evening. In the Al Camino lounge  jazz pianist, Tim Allhoff  was quietly impressive  as he worked through a set of complex improvisations  on standards (including a  version of the Danny Boy) accompanied by an occasional cocktail shaker for percussion. 

Set List  Scholl

Dowland Flow My Tears
                I Saw My Lady Weep
Campion I Care not for these ladies

Bach Prelude in C
Purcell    Music for a while
               Evening Hymn
Britten Folksong arr. The Ash Grove
Haydn  Despair/ Recollection/ The Wanderer

Haydn Piano Solo Minuet and Finale Piano Sonata in A 
Britten Salley Gardens/ Greensleeves
Robert Johnson Have you seen the bright lilies grow
Encore I will give my love an apple 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yIsScgpNoA

Alpine Symphonies

I am just back from a week in Bavaria where in between soaking up the sunshine and  alpine scenery, I caught a performance by Wuppertal Sinfonie Orchestra at the Congress Hall in Garmisch Partenkirchen. Young violinist Tobias Feldman was a very sweet toned soloist in Mendelssohn's concerto but it was the dramatic contrasts in Bruckner's 4th Symphony that made the biggest impression.  Conductor Prof. Toshiyuki Kamioka had a rather dramatic podium style, almost doubling over in drawing the softest pianissimo.

 In the capital, every Munchener seemed to have downed tools and taken up positions at the pavement cafés and gardens . Nothing quite so cheerful as drinking beer to  the sound of waltzes and polkas played by a live oompah band.  It wasn't all sunshine and smiles though.  There were some grim violent scenes too. Not on the streets I hasten to add but on the set of the Bavarian State Opera production of Mussorgsky's Boris Gudonov updated to a contemporary setting. We caught up  with cast member Clare tenor , Dean Power now in his second year as a member of the Staatsoper Ensemble.

Ecco di Lorenza at Vogler's Jazz Club

Drawing Dan Foley 

Finally after a gap of five years we returned to Vogler's Jazz Bar in Munich.  We loved the mix of jazz standards dished up with a dollop of humour by vocalist, Ecco Di Lorenzo and a backing trio.

listen to ‘Brass band in Englischer Garden, Munich’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Spanish music Innsbruck ’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Spanish music Innsbruck ’ on Audioboo

Silvester Party at Bayernhalle Garmisch Partenkirchen 2010

Bayernhalle  performers

Wandering around the Bavarian resort town of Garmisch Partenkirchen on New Year's Eve we spotted posters promoting a 'Silvestre' event  and made our way to this venue. It was exactly what you might expect, a large gathering of mostly locals whiling away the hours by drinking, eating and being amused by tarditional party turns .  We especially loved Catherine with her Cow Bell Solo, followed by euphonium and clarinet turns, all very good indeed.  The woodchopping pancake turning routine had us a bit baffled.  Finally a sing song  (Ce Sera Sera a pan European favourite it seems) and a good old knees up before all going out to look at the fireworks. Sehr gut  fun !