A new take on Strauss’ merry pranks lead to decidedly mixed bag.

QSO Studio, Southbank, Brisbane
July 5, 2015

The Queensland Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players is a solid idea – a low-key and relaxed performance atmosphere, in the fine acoustic of the fairly new QSO Studio in Brisbane’s Southbank. Unfortunately, this concert wasn’t entirely successful by any means.

The programme, as far as I could tell, was assembled by various players simply putting their hands up to make suggestions as to what the concert would feature. As such, it was a bit of a hodge-podge in terms of programming, without any discernible thread tying it together.

The concert opened well, with Irit Silver presenting Crusell’s Clarinet Quartet No. 2 in C minor, Op. 4. Despite some explosively questionable intonation at the beginning, the ensemble recovered smoothly. With plenty of classical charm, the four movements had some very fine moments, from the fine blending of the clarinet in the Meneutto and Trio, to the fabulously Gypsy-influenced finale. Packed with charisma, the piece provided a pleasant introduction to the rest of the concert.

Strangely, the next piece on the programme was Debussy’s late Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp. While I can’t quite see...