Music / “Wyld Brumby”, The Black Mountain Piano Quartet. At All Saints Anglican Church, Ainslie, August 5. Reviewed by ROB KENNEDY.

PASSION and freshness permeate the music of Colin Brumby’s “Piano Quartet”, plus quirky, classical and romantic sounds filled this friendly concert.

The performers in The Black Mountain Piano Quartet were Kathleen Loh, piano, Jason Li, violin, Thayer Parker, viola, Alex Moncur, cello.

Delightfully quirky, entertaining and bouncy, the opening work “Dance of the Paper Umbrellas”, by Elena Kats-Chernin created a bright start. As with almost all of Kats-Chernin’s music, this piece fit those qualities. Fittingly performed, the four players created a clear and happy response to this joyfully playful music.

Then Mozart’s “Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major”, K. 493. The bold opening of this three-movement work kept that upbeat feeling flowing. The players produced an even balance of dynamics and a tone evenly tempered. Loh on piano stood out not just in her solo moment, but through her expressive and perfectly controlled response to the music.

The larghetto, with its flowing yet changing style, was handled particularly well by all the players with its short rests and sudden stops. It made the music stand out even more. It was full of questions and answers.

In the final allegretto movement, it was a bit like a sped-up version of the slow movement. Little stops made each player concentrate closely on their timing, and they were all spot-on, with Mozart at his playful best.

After the interval, and performed for the first time in Canberra, Colin Brumby’s “Piano Quartet”, is a thing of beauty. Making a profound statement to begin, then moving into a more expansive theme before a graceful tune opened the music out into its full style.

It was rich tonal music with many individual lines across the four instruments. The fresh sound of its construction was performed with a great feeling for the quality of its style. A restless beauty throughout kept the music joined as sections transitioned into one another.

Dreamy, sad, romantic and tinged with a touch of classical styles, the second movement bordered between highly expressive and stern. It was a mixed musical language, but beautifully written. It went from walking pace to quick, then a slow, introspective ending.

The final allegro movement felt more classical, but leaned towards modern. Bright colours and sparkling playing gave the music great attention. The Black Mountain Piano Quartet is a quality group who in this concert made some challenging music shine brightly.

The quartet encored with a red-hot version of “Run to the Hills” by the rock group Iron Maiden.

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