ALL Saints Church in High Wycombe was the venue for a concert given by The Chiltern Camerata on 17 May, as part of the 2014 Wycombe Arts Festival, whose 50th anniversary is this year.

The Camerata’s conductor Sam Laughton was joined by pianist Rupert Egerton-Smith in a programme celebrating The Great 19th Century Romantic Tradition in works by Nino Rota, Richard Wagner and Beethoven.

Nino Rota (1911 – 1979) was a prolific Italian composer, best known for his many film scores, notably those directed by Fellini such as La Strada, La Dolce Vita and also Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet. The 1963 film Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) is set in Sicily and is the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina, a 19th-century Sicilian nobleman caught in the midst of civil war and revolution. For the Grand Ball Scene, Rota composed a Suite of seven contrasting dances which opened the Camerata’s concert in splendid style.

The confident un-forced tone of the strings, showing much humour and nimble finger work was projected well, especially in the virtuosic Galop, making it all sound so easy. Assured tuning throughout made this Suite an excellent opener – full of contrast and charming melodies ideally suited for a beautiful sunny evening. Once again, Sam Laughton has introduced rarely heard repertoire which he knows his band will play well and which the audience will enjoy. Warm applause followed.

Next came Richard Wagner’s Siegfied Idyll which had been written as a birthday present for his second wife, Cosima, after the birth of their son Siegfried in 1869. As Sam told his audience, it was first performed on Christmas morning 1870, by a small ensemble of the Tonhalle Orchester, Zurich on the stairs of their villa at Lucerne. It is scored for strings, woodwind and horns, with a very small part for trumpet.

This tender work includes some very exposed writing for all the players – there is no hiding place for anyone! At times, especially at the beginning and in very quiet passages, the strings were very tentative, nervous even and the tuning from the start took time to settle and cello themes could have been more pronounced, but the winds, especially the oboe produced some lovely tone. I felt the horns would have welcomed time to warm up before this piece. Notwithstanding the comments, little got in the way of a nicely performed Idyll, and as audiences are accustomed, Sam Laughton finds ideal tempi for each performance.

Pianist Rupert Egerton-Smith, the soloist for Beethoven’s 5th Piano Concerto in E flat the “Emperor” has a busy and varied performing career. Prize winner in a number of competitions, his playing has been described as “particularly impressive” by International Piano Magazine. He has performed extensively in venues including the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall and many others at home and abroad.

Composed in 1809, Beethoven attempted a first performance of this work, but failed due to his total loss of hearing. Today though, any pianist has to be on top of his game, as the opening of the concerto is one of the most exposed and demanding in the repertoire, containing many arpeggios and trills, before the orchestra presents the first theme.

The concerto is a substantial work running to over forty minutes and when after the lengthy orchestral introduction the soloist finally enters, we could hear why Rupert is so highly rated. He played with great sensitivity, clarity and colour and his passage work was stunning. Only once or twice at cadences, did the ensemble between the piano and orchestra fail. The Yamaha piano, hired for the concert had a very bright tone, especially in the highest octaves and for me did not produce a pleasant sound in those areas, but this is not to criticise the player in any way. His composure at the keyboard and his following of the conductor was exemplary, shading the tone appropriately and playing with great panache when required.

The second movement of the concerto contains some of Beethoven’s most serene music – the strings with yearning harmonies and including a duo of horns and lovely solo oboe playing – all reminiscent of a song without words.

The simplest of modulations takes us into the final movement, with the piano eventually launching into the final Rondo Allegro ma non troppo after a teasing hint of the theme which follows. For much of this movement sounds of a rustic dance are contrasted with main theme embellished with scales and flourishes in a more lyrical style. Once again Rupert Egerton-Smith demonstrated his assured technique throughout.

The orchestra, supported the soloist in the concerto admirably under Sam Laughton’s direction which was spot on throughout this uplifting concert. Once again this was an evening where the repertoire chosen was both challenging and appealing to players and audience, and which was performed to an excellent standard throughout.

By Graham Davies