Astatine Trio
Those lucky enough to have been present in the Octagon Chapel this lunchtime will remember them, and this concert, for years to come.
Following an evening of baroque musical splendour within the lavish setting of The Assembly House, it was a return to the dignified delights of The Octagon Chapel in Colegate on Monday lunchtime for the first of two Norfolk & Norwich Festival concerts being produced in association with BBC Radio 3's New Generation Artists Scheme. And, as I took my place on one of the chapel's stark wooden benches, I was reminded that both this building and the magnificent Assembly House that provided the setting for yesterday’s recital were each designed by the same Norwich architect, Thomas Ivory. The stark octagonal design of the chapel certainly contrasts with the grandeur of the Assembly House, its design clearly being a nod to the practices and followings of the Presbyterian Church of the time. Now serving Norwich's Unitarian Community, the Octagon Chapel remains an equally well-loved venue on the Norfolk & Norwich Festival map, and in the Festival calendar.
The Astatine Trio is one of the UK's most exciting young chamber music ensembles. Formed five years ago, and first mentored by the late Czech-born Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel, the trio comprises Brighton-born sisters Berniya and Riya Hamie (on pianoforte and cello respectively) together with first violin player (and a previous member of the Brompton Quartet), Maja Horvat. Together, the trio have won prizes at the Franz Schubert and Modern Music Competition in Graz (the first UK-based ensemble so to do) and at the Birmingham International Piano Chamber Music Competition. Their lunchtime recital in Norwich featured Franz Schubert's masterful Piano Trio No 2 in E Flat, but began with Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu's water-inspired 'Between Tides'.
Written in 1993, the colourful imagery of ‘Between Tides’ reminds us how Takemitsu’s early influences – which include composers such as the Russian modernist Igor Stravinsky, and American experimentalist John Cage - helped to inspire the surging waves of eloquence and also the calming restraint contained within this evocative 15 minute composition. Listening to it, I am transported in my own mind to the North Norfolk coastline, to the beaches of Holkham and Wells, and to the sandbanks and the river estuary at Burnham Overy Staithe, where the tides surge forward, covering both the river channels and the hardened ripples of sand, before turning and withdrawing back to the distant sandbanks. ‘Between Tides’ evocatively awakened those coastal memories, and are channelled beautifully via the playing of the Astatine Trio.
The four movements of Schubert’s Piano Trio lead us on another profound and emotional journey, led by Berniya Hamie’s sensitive piano playing. An almost telepathic connection seems to exist between her and younger sister Riya on cello. But it is Maja Horvat’s violin that provides the spark that really ignites the piece, particularly during the second movement. The central theme, inspired by a Swedish folk song, may have sounded familiar to anyone who remembers the Stanley Kubrick film ‘Barry Lyndon’. The lively Scherzo of the third movement leads smoothly into a closing sonata rondo, which brings the piece to a close.
It is really quite astonishing to remember that these three young musicians are still only in their early twenties, and yet already display so much confidence and surety in their playing. It has already won them both awards and praise from their peers, and led to performances in the Wigmore Hall and appearances at Aldburgh as Britten Pears Young Artists during the 2023-24 concert season. And, for those lucky enough to have been present in the Octagon Chapel this lunchtime, we will remember them, and this concert, for years to come.
(This concert was recorded, and is scheduled to be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 during The Early Music Show on November 9th)
