Kicking off today at Clerkenwell’s Fidelio Cafe, EC1, the twice-postponed Up Close And Musical Festival – eclectic chamber music programmes with a continental cafe culture vibe.
Trio Klein (featuring UCaM Artistic Director Shiry Rashkovsky) took centre stage this evening (with a last-minute appearance from composer and pianist Huw Watkins playing a part in Caroline Shaw’s mesmerising 1000th Orange, a twenty minute musical journey that starts with an entertaining harmonic misdirection played out between piano and strings (piano playing something seemingly orthodox, an idea subverted when the strings join with something altogether unexpected).
We were sat close to the musicians in the intimate cafe decorated with archive LPs and a myriad of houseplants. After some Goldberg Variations arranged for string trio and Gideon Klein’s captivating Trio, home-cooked fodder from the Fidelio kitchen – Beef Ragu with a smoked salmon starter.
A charming unpretentious atmosphere where proximity to music made for heart-stopping moments.
