Atéa Wind Quintet

On Saturday 27th February the Arran Music Society featured the Atéa Wind Quintet, a brilliant group of young players who delighted the audience. The classic combination of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn lends itself to a wide range of music, and Brodick Hall was filled with attentive listeners. The Music Society’s new policy of informal seating, with listeners grouped round tables with a drink of their choice, is proving to be very popular and results in a convivial, attentive audience, full of appreciation. A further immense benefit is the invaluable support of the Tunnell Trust, through whose generosity this concert was made possible.

The Atéa five provided much to appreciate. Every one of these young players demonstrated easy mastery and a vast range of emotional expression. Alena Lugovkina on flute acted as lead violin in a string group, and her technical brilliance and dept of feeling exemplified all that is so great about the best of Russian players. Anna Hashimoto on clarinet, Ashley Myall, bassoon, Chris Beagles, horn and Philip Haworth, oboe, were constantly in close, empathetic touch, sensitive to every nuance of pace and feeling. The rare chance to hear the fantastic quintet by Karl Jenkins was thrilling. This long, technically demanding composition ranges widely through every shade of emotion, and was presented with intelligence, sensitivity and a great dash of sheer panache. Nobody present will forget it – sometimes a musical experience is so dramatic and compelling that one feels in the presence of something very special, and this concert was absolutely in that category. The audience went out into the night moved and elated, and you can’t say better than that.

Alison Prince