Funtington Music Group

FMG Annual Review 2009.

The 2009 season opened in January with the welcome return of Jonathan Hinden to the Funtington Music Group.  He gave an illustrated lecture recital at the University of Chichester [all the 2009 concerts in fact took place there] on the subject of Mozart’s Magic Flute, and, as he had worked at Glyndebourne for much of his career, there was no-one more qualified to take the audience through the ramifications of the plot and the joys of its music.  He is a first class entertainer, who played pieces from the opera on the piano, sang extracts from the arias, and just entertained the audience with deep and unexpected insights as well as numerous surprising and amusing anecdotes.

In contrast, the February concert was a lecture recital on the Bassoon given by Philip Gibbon.  The audience, after being given a whistle stop tour of the historical origins of the bassoon, were introduced to a Sonata by Boddeker, written in 1651, but Philip Gibbon spent the remainder of the concert playing with considerable talent more recent pieces from the 19th and 20th Centuries.  He was accompanied by Joanna Smith, a talented and versatile pianist.

The recital by Duo Perspective with Rebecca Hawes [cello] and Russell Hepplewhite [piano] in March was extremely well received.  Their well-chosen programme followed a distinctive chronological pattern, starting with Beethoven’s Sonata No 4 [Opus 102], before moving onto Rachmaninov’s Vocalise.  Both musicians are highly skilled and they ended the concert with two exuberant pieces by Barber and Popper.

April traditionally is the month of the University of Chichester Showcase Concert, sponsored by Funtington Music Group, and this year the event was adjudicated by John Gleadhall, with prizes presented by Professor Michael Hitchcock.  Auditioned from 20 of the 400 strong University Music Department, six performers aimed for the top prize of £500 donated by the Robert Headley Memorial Fund.  Will Gormley was the runner-up and Ben Socrates was the winner.  The overall standard of music was excellent.

In May, Arthur Robson, Director of Choral Studies at the University of Chichester, gave an inspiring and innovative lecture recital condensing the history of fifteen centuries of choral music, with the help of the University Choirs, and a number of individual students. The standard of singing was impressive, and the concert memorable, particularly as Arthur Robson was such a gifted story-teller.

The Badke Quartet returned to play in June.  The Funtington Music Group’s Summer Concert, with wine and buffet, was a spectacular success.  The Badke opened with Mozart’s String Quartet No 20 in D Major K499, and this was played with exuberance and style, and was completely satisfying.  Led by Heather Badke [violin], the Quartet performed beautifully with a balance and dynamic cohesion, and the energetic introduction to the final movement was a splendid “tour de force”.  The concert ended with Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No 2 in A Minor Opus 13.

In September Christopher Gayford [piano] and Martin Cropper [violin] were welcomed back for their fifth visit. On this occasion they first analysed and then, after the interval, played Elgar’s Violin Sonata in E Minor Opus 82.  In their performance Martin Cropper’s virtuoso violin playing was matched by Christopher Gayford’s sensitive accompaniment on the piano.  It was a superb performance.

In October Ben Hall, Head of Music at the University of Chichester, gave an outstanding lecture recital and a stunning performance on the University’s Steinway Centennial Grand.  Ben Hall had discovered as well a piece of music, Grosser Festmarsch, written by Wagner, which had been performed in 1876 at the Philadelphia Exhibition, possibly on this very Steinway.  This piece had been lost for over 100 years, and so this performance was therefore particularly symbolic.  Ben Hall also included in his programme music by Liszt, Brahms and Rubenstein, and his interpretation of Liszt’s Sonata in B Minor, moving from thundering chords to ethereally beautiful playing, was outstanding.

In November Jaquelyn Fugelle and Terence Allbright provided a most entertaining and varied programme of songs that spanned two centuries. These two well-established musicians have a natural rapport, and effortlessly moved between some very different styles of music ranging, from Mozart and Haydn, to Mendelssohn and Liszt.  The programme concluded with some 20th Century music from the French composer Joseph Canteloup and the Catalan composer Xavier Montsalvatge.

Finally the Christmas Buffet Concert took place in December and the Funtington Music Group was entertained by Gwenllian Davies [oboe] and Joanna Smith [piano].  This was a superb end to the year with a programme which showed the oboe at its most versatile, given by a first-class and passionate oboe player, accompanied by a highly skilled and sensitive pianist.  The event ended with a buffet where members were able to meet the musicians and their family in a friendly social setting.

Chris Linford and David Tinsley.

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