'Pople and Son' concert receives a foot-stamping ovation

The committed concert-goers who ventured out on a bitterly cold evening were rewarded with an event which served at least to warm the heart. “Pople and Son” might have been the sub-title of the programme, for the cellist in all three items. Ross Pople, was joined by his son, Jake (SH UVI), in Beethoven’s clarinet trio, op 11, thus bringing a special intimacy to the music-making. The other parts were taken by our own John Moore, piano, and Robert Gibbs, violin,  who, like Pople senior, is a distinguished London professional.

Wisely, the advertised order was changed and the concert began with a Haydn trio for the usual forces of violin, cello, and piano, the chronological sequence making sense, even though there is only a two-year gap in composition.  From the contemplative andante to the spirited  “Gypsy Rondo”, the trio played as one, the beauty of the string tone fully brought out by the superb acoustic properties of the Maidment.

Hardly a week goes by without a chance to hear one of the School’s excellent clarinettists, and Jake Pople, replacing the violinist in the Beethoven, made a confident and mellifluous contribution. Father and son left the stage in the glow of mutual pride.

In both works, one is always aware that, unlike symphonies and concertos, this is music for the players, private music to be played among family and friends. By the time Mendelssohn came to write the trio in D minor, things had changed, and particularly in the piano part, there is a sense that it was destined for the platform. The climax of the first movement was a raging torrent of sound, John Moore in his element, unfazed by some very demanding passages, his two colleagues matching him with awe-inspiring power. At the conclusion, the exhilaration of the participants was plain to see, even before a grateful audience weighed in with a cheering, foot-stamping ovation.

Outside, it didn’t seem cold any more.

Martin Knox

Please also see Jake Pople's Week in Life article.