Cellist Anastasia Koblekina and pianist Jean-Selim Abdelmoula at Wigmore Hall with works, by Boulanger, Janáček, and Fauré
Cellist Anastasia Kobekina is an assured communicator, confidently responding to the score with strength, sensitivity and wit. She and her musical partner pianist Jean-Sélim Abdelmoula make for a formidable team, captivating storytellers brimming with commitment, energy, and enthusiasm. Their performance of fervent, sometimes tempestuous late 19th- early 20th-century romantic music was delivered with conviction. Well worth the last minute ticket. Koblekina is a must-see.
Nadia Boulanger’s three pieces for cello and piano are a joyous concert opener. Three short vignettes were easy on the ear. A mystical setting full of lightplay characterised the opening Modéré, expressive pastoral material in the second, and an antsy dance to conclude, all demonstrate Boulanger’s beautifully efficient writing.
Pohádka by Leoš Janáček is bolder musical language, proud and determined. An often turbulent first movement is followed by a fleet-footed dance contrasted with gentler more reflective material in the second. The final third movement returns with bold and passionate material reminiscent of the opening movement, but concludes with a strange air of ambiguity. This might explain why Janáček added a movement to the work two years after its 1910 premiere, although that was subsequently removed when the work was published in 1924. The ambiguity works.
In the concluding works by Fauré, the French composer’s melodic lines are tidy, balanced and endearing. The haunting lyricism of Les berceaux Op. 23 No. 1 adds a dark edge to what feels at times like a gentle lullaby. Like the opening Boulanger suite, Kobekina makes light work of this with a beautifully tender sound drawn with ease and grace.
The Violin Sonata transcribed for cello makes for a suitable conclusion to the programme. The opening movement bursts forth with youthful exuberance. The emotion that underscores the entire work isn’t far removed from the more wistful, introspective opening of the second movement, and Koblekina balances these two states deftly. The piano sometimes dominated in the third movement, especially in the more agitated sequences where the virtuosity demanded of the cello line resulted in a slight imbalance in sound. The concluding fourth movement saw a return to form.
Whilst Radio 3 management would have been delighted at the inclusion of Radiohead’s Like Spinning Plates as an encore, the arrangement added little after what had already been a sparkling and uplifting programme.
