Piers Lane & Ensemble Q String Quartet

Image: Piers Lane. Photographer: Benjamin Ealovega

London-based Australian pianist Piers Lane, has been trying to perform this Musica Viva programme for two years – it's been scuppered by the pandemic twice! It was to have been performed with the NSW-based Goldner String Quartet. When that wasn't possible, the Ensemble Q String Quartet stepped in. Like Piers, this group are usually travelling interstate and worldwide, but were based in Brisbane due to world events. So, the timing was good for Brisbane audiences as the three pieces in this short showcase proved once again what a wealth of superb world-class talent we have on our very doorstep. In fact, some classical music fans might recognise Piers from the BBC Proms in London as he has performed as a soloist five times at the Royal Albert Hall. And, while introducing proceedings, Piers confessed that, in a few days time, he was heading back to London where he has taught at the Royal Academy of Music, worked for BBC radio and is currently in demand for his solo and collaborative performances.

The Ensemble Q quartet for this performance were a group experienced internationally as well as honed in performance programmes across Australia for various symphony orchestras and quartets: Trish Dean (Australian World Orchestra) on cello, Imants Larsens (Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO)) on viola, and Natsuko Yoshimoto (recently appointed as QSO's co-concertmaster)  and Anne Horton (Australian String Quartet and QSO) on violins. This quartet perform so succinctly as a group, you would think they've been playing together for years – but Natsuko was in Adelaide until 2020, and Imants only moved to Brisbane in 2019.

Image: Ensemble Q and Piers Lane. Photographer: Morgan Roberts

The chosen pieces were a strange trio but the overall outcome was a very satisfying concert performed with utmost proficiency by these very talented musicians. The first piece performed by the quartet was by turn-of-the-20th-century Polish composer Szymanowski. His Second String Quartet was tense and atmospheric. It reminded me of a cinema score for a complex film noir, something like Christopher Nolan's Inception where images revolve and turn back on themselves. I adored the shades of volume, and tones of pace achieved by these players.

Piers Lane then performed a very short piece by Lili Boulanger, introducing it as 'French soul-searching to follow the Polish soul-searching'. This is not far off the mark as both composers had tragically short lives. But while Szymanowski was in his 50s, poor Lili was only 24 when she succumbed to illness. Her piece Thème et Variations, played outstandingly by Piers on solo piano, was written when she was only 19 years old. This was a very moving, sobering piece but a wonderful way to see this exceptional pianist in action.

When Piers was joined by the quartet, the mood lifted considerably with the effervescent Piano Quintet by the Romantic 19th-century composer, Brahms. This piece is a patchwork of moods and themes, giving the players a full canvas to work with. But you can't beat the Romantics for concluding with an upbeat tempo and final flourish to inspire standing-ovation-worthy emotion.

The Queensland Conservatorium Theatre was almost completely packed with music fans and it was wonderful to see so many people out in force. Classical music is indeed alive and well in Brisbane, with recent 2022 season launches by the QSO and Musica Viva. Ensemble Q are performing with soprano Eva Kong at the City Workshop and the Brisbane Music Festival continues until the end of the year. The Queensland Conservatorium at Griffith University also has a regular programme of free and low-cost lunchtime and evening gigs – so there's no excuse for not checking out the vibrant live music scene in the city.

Beth Keehn