Amersham Concert Club’s Sparkling Performance by the Adderbury Ensemble, Saturday, March 2. Viv McLean – piano, Martyn Jackson and Jenny Sacha – violins, Chris Windass – viola and Jane Fenton - cello.

A large and enthusiastic audience heard a wonderful evening of music by Beethoven, Mozart and Schumann at the third of Amersham Concert Club’s programme of chamber music last Saturday, writes Jenny Faulkner.

Introducing the music, viola player Chris Windass said that the three works could all be described as happy ones and what joy and energy this group of players brought to their music-making.

The programme opened with Beethoven’s Piano Trio Op.11 for violin, cello and piano, an often-overlooked piece which deserves to be played more often.

The depth of expression the musicians produced in the Adagio was an indicator of what was to come.

The trio then became a string quartet for Mozart’ “Hunt” quartet, a much more familiar piece.

It owes its nickname to the galloping rhythms and suggested horn calls with which it opens, but again, for me, the heart of this work was the Adagio.

This was beautifully played with all four players communicating wonderfully and bringing a great intensity to the music. After the interval, the quartet were joined by pianist, Viv McLean, who has played many times in the Amersham area, for Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E flat.

This is one of Schumann’s finest chamber works and received a stunning performance from the Ensemble.

A very long-standing member of the Club said afterwards that “it was probably the finest performance of the piece he had ever heard.”

The Club’s season concludes on March 23 with a concert by Ensemble Mirage (piano, violin and clarinet) playing music based on Eastern European folk music by Khachaturian, Shostakovitch, Stravinsky, Bartok, Schoenfield and a very rarely heard piece by Poulenc “L’invitation au Chateau”.

See www.amershamconcerts.org.uk for more information and tickets.