United Kingdom Beethoven, Cramer, Schubert: Peter Donohoe (piano), Leon Bosch (double bass), I Musicanti. Turner Sims, Southampton, 8.10.2026. (CK)
Beethoven – Piano Quartet in E-flat, Op.16
J.B. Cramer – Piano Quintet No.3 in B-flat, Op.79
Schubert – Piano Quintet in A, D667, ‘The Trout’
South African son of an anti-apartheid campaigner, intrepid explorer of the furthest reaches of the double bass repertoire, professor, conductor, performer, marathon runner, holder of a Master’s degree in Intelligence and International Relations: Leon Bosch is a polymath, a Renaissance Man. By no means, though, an ivory tower academic: the list of projects and initiatives he has founded or supported would probably fill a page or two. Just a couple of weeks ago he was conducting Schubert’s Great C Major with The Hanover Band in the Cadogan Hall; here, with his group I Musicanti, he sandwiched a largely unknown composer between youthful Beethoven and Schubert.
Beethoven’s Op.16 Piano Quartet has an unusual provenance. He composed it initially as a quintet for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon, inspired by Mozart’s quintet for the same instruments and in the same key; its success prompted him to arrange it for the more marketable piano, violin, viola and cello. This version is by no means bland or characterless: but the tonal variety of the wind instruments probably makes the music more attractive.
It begins with a spacious slow introduction, in which assertive sounds are countered by plaintive ones. The piano launches the main Allegro, and off we go; music of Beethovenian vigour touched by Mozartian grace. Music in which a smile never seems far away. The piano also begins the Andante cantabile, with a theme that could almost be a Mozart aria: here, as elsewhere, Peter Donohoe’s sensitive but unmannered touch was a joy to hear. He launched the finale too, with a cheerful, even buffo tune: the movement bounced along in high good humour.
The name J.B. Cramer is not familiar to me, but that is apparently not the case with those who take piano lessons – his Studies are still in use. Born a year after Beethoven and outliving him by more than 30 years, he made a reputation as a performer and a teacher: yet he composed an enormous amount of music – mostly piano sonatas, but also nine piano concertos and a small body of chamber music. Leon Bosch, rummaging through this, has unearthed three piano quintets: this one, the third, being his favourite. Cramer adopted the scoring of Schubert’s Trout Quintet: so to conclude this concert with that masterpiece was a neat piece of programming.
It is an enjoyable piece: I confess that I spent most of the first movement enjoying the difference the double bass makes to the overall sonority (a friend, however, observed during the interval that Cramer had not scored a single pizzicato for the double bass: he had found Bosch’s performance rather overbearing). The opening Allegro is marked moderato ma spiritoso: and so it was, with a rather magical ending. The Adagio cantabile is a set of variations, the music at times taking on a serious and substantial character: the final Rondo, full of charm and high spirits, threatened at times to overstep the bounds of drawing-room decency. It was given a winning performance, with Donohoe’s piano providing many moments of delight.
After the interval Schubert’s Trout Quintet was given a performance of freshness, charm and directness, with no attempt to over-sweeten it. The opening Allegro was full of breezy vigour (whisper it if you dare: it does go on a bit). The Andante brought Haydn to mind – not in its style, but in its air of benign humanity. The Scherzo really sparkled, with crisp attack; fanciful, this, but in the Trio I heard a hint of a wheezing hurdy-gurdy in the strings. Die Forelle was given a fresh and forthright airing, and a dynamic one: at times this trout had to make its way through choppy waters. The light-footed finale was all smiles.
A pleasant concert, enjoyed by a good house: the string players of I Musicanti – Martyn Jackson (violin), Robert Smissen (viola) and Ursula Smith (cello) – played with unfailing and nicely blended skill, and it was an especial pleasure to see and hear Peter Donohoe, master of so many challenging forms of pianism, at the Turner Sims keyboard.
Chris Kettle