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LIFE ON TOUR |
As with so much of life, touring with the Ambache as an orchestra or as an
ensemble ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Giving
concerts is most often what actors would call a series of 'first nights',
where we prepare a programme for a single performance, give it,
and move on to the next set of music. So touring is, first and foremost,
a great opportunity to develop an interpretation through a sequence of
concerts.
We were very fortunate in 2001 to have two tours supported by the Arts
Council National Touring Programme. In the Spring we gave six orchestral
and four ensemble concerts round the country. There was a Mozart Piano
Concerto in the programme, and that was the first time I've given six
performances in a row of the G major Concerto, K453. It was a treat to
be able to settle in, develop my ideas, work with a group who were
responding to every moment, and generally enjoy playing a wonderful
piece of music.
We also played Elizabeth Maconchy's Theme
and Variations for Strings in the same programme, and it was
fantastic to get to know such a richly written and challenging piece
beyond the initial level of just making it work. The music itself just
gets better and better when you're playing great works.
What makes these concerts sublime, ridiculous, or somewhere in between
is the venue, the piano, the welcome and general atmosphere of the place.
We had the two extremes in 2001. One of the Spring concerts was at
a lovely Festival, in a pretty church, with a Steinway grand piano, a
large and enthusiastic audience, and an appreciative concert promoter.
It's very rewarding playing in those conditions. Then there was the Arts
Centre, which was more comfortable promoting pantomine than classsical
music. It had a theatre acoustic (too dry for musicians) and a hard-toned
piano. Perhaps because the promoter was embarrassed at the small
audience, she didn't even say 'Hello', or 'Welcome'. That was quite
dispiriting.
Sometimes people ask if I mind where I play, and the
answer is not at all, so long as there's a decent piano. When the venue
hasn't got a piano and our Arts Council grant allows, then I choose a Bösendorfer, and that's a
real pleasure.
Touring is also tantalising, in the way we get glimpses of places with
almost no time to see anything. When we went to Ludlow a friend told me
that it had the best restaurant in England; but eating a first rate meal
is just not something you can do on a concert day. Other engaging aspects
of the year have included doing a programme to celebrate Sir Malcolm
Arnold's 80th birthday - tea and birthday cake with the audience on the actual
day. This gave a nice connection with the situation Fanny Mendelssohn
composed for (we were also playing her Piano Trio), the Sunday morning
Musicales held at the Mendelssohn home. These would have included
refreshments and a party atmosphere. One of 2001's 'firsts' was to
be given cells in the town jail as our changing rooms! Spilsby has made
it's characterful Courthouse-cum-Jail into a theatre, and very
charming it is too.
Diana Ambache
www.ambache.co.uk
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