Presto Players review - Brilliant brothers at heart of spring soirée in Leamington

Barbara O’Reilly led a fiendishly difficult finale of a Mahler work on violin (photo: Lukas Gojda/Adobe Stock)

One of this year’s very few sun-filled evenings greeted patrons at the Tennis and Squash Club, celebrating its 150th year, for another Presto Players soirée.

With both O’Reilly boys in town this week - Patrick (viola) back from his studies at Imperial and Andrew (cello) contemplating his next steps – this was the opportunity to explore a ‘hidden gem’ or two. Mahler’s seldom heard sole surviving piece of chamber music, his Quartet Movement for Piano, Violin, Viola and Cello, is the first movement of his abandoned Piano Quartet. Like many of Mahler’s symphonies the work requires enormous concentration and ends with a fiendishly difficult finale led confidently by Barbara O’Reilly (violin). By coincidence this work will be heard again in Leamington when Amici della Musica open the Leamington Festival on Thursday May 2.

Andrew O’Reilly, a brilliant young cellist, currently leader of the cello section of the National Youth Orchestra, played Fauré’s Élégie. Sadly, the work was written as the composer’s wife was dying; Andrew’s very moving rendition tells this desperately sad story so very intelligently.

The host for the concert, Simon Ballard, reflected on his time at the now Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the influence of his composition tutor, then organist at Lichfield Cathedral. Required to write sonatina for piano and violin in a 20th century style as Ravel and Milhaud had done, Ballard’s two-movement work was given its first public performance with Barbara nimbly tackling the two contrasting movements. Before this can be considered a ‘hidden gem’ it will require at least a couple more outings!

In an effort to make full use of both O’Reilly boys being in town, Ballard chose Beethoven’s Piano Quartet in C Major - one of three piano quartets he composed at the age of 14 - to end the evening. A viola/cello duet in the middle movement was a highlight; the complete work a spectacular end to the soirée with a performance having a sense of drive and excitement.