MOSCOW ART TRIO
FESTIVAL
it MoscowArtTrio
improvisations which they spark) mix jazz and
classical influences with Moldavian folk music in
radical fashion. aided and
: abetted by French horn
The jazz programme in this year’s Festival. while high on quality. has looked both safe and familiar. The debut visit of the Moscow Art Trio is a notable exception. The band were scheduled to play here back in April. but flight problems from I Moscow meant they were . stuck in London just when . they should have been 1 taking the stage in Edinburgh. There should be no such hitch this time. though. and we will have the chance to experience their extraordinary music at first hand. Pianist Mikhail Alperin’s compositions (and the
‘I player Arkady Shilkloper
and the bizarre singer
Sergei Starostin. It will be ; unpredictable and 1 exciting. and there has not
been too much of that
f particular combination so far. (Kenny Mathieson) ' I Moscow Art Trio (TDK Round Midnight) BBC
Studios, Queen Street. 668 2019. 8pm. £6 (£4).
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‘ Virtuosity is as unusual in ,3 folk music as in any other : field but there are two
: contrasting artists who
certainly merit that description playing within a few days of each other at the Acoustic Music Centre.
June Tabor is the Queen of English Folk Song; not that she limits herself to just that, having recorded a wide cross-section of contemporary song. including ajazz-inflected album a few years ago. and sings with unforgettable cool passion and intelligence in a unique vocal style. Her concerts have a rare intensity and depth, yet are not devoid of humour.
Ireland's Liam O‘ Flynn could sing if you asked him, but he is famous as a master of the uillean pipes. that most complicated bellows- blown bagpipe.
Apprenticed to the great Seamus Ennis. O' Flynn rose to prominence in the seminal ln'sh band Planxty, and later as soloist with major symphony orchestras in the Sean Davey epic. The Brendan Voyage.
His playing is technically brilliant but is always at the service of the music. (Norman Chalmers)
I June Tabor (Fringe) Acoustic Music Centre
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(Venue 25) 220 2462. 31 Aug. 7.30pm. £6 (£4).
I [in O’ Flynn (Fringe) Acoustic Music Centre (Venue 25) 220 2462. 2 Sept. 7.30pm. £6 (£4).
Highlands.
BOYS OF THE i l I [006" '(_?~{
Formed in l967. the Boys Of The Lough have travelled from their Edinburgh base to all comers of the globe. spreading the gospel of acoustic traditional music and song. i The two central members. Ireland’s Cathal McConnell on flute and Shetland's most famous fiddler Aly Bain. still play I with the same fire and enthusiasm after 26 years. and the music continues to I range freely through the | traditional music and song of the British isles and | North America, with a bias towards Ireland. the '
musical home of three of the five members.
Two more great lrish traditional bands make it to the Festival this year. Altan continue to charm audiences with beguiling Donegal vocals by co-
founder Mairead Ni Monagh. and a strong rhythmic impetus from a multi-fiddle front line, in an always tasteful repertoire of jigs. slow airs. reels and the peculiar Donegal version of Strathspeys called
‘ With Arty McGiynn. the ' master of frets in traditional music. in the i
guitar chair. and superb fiddle from Cathal Hayden. Four Men And A Dog are a tremendous instrumental band. Pity about their bland. countryish songs. (Norman Chalmers)
I Boys of the Lough (Fringe) Queen's Hall (Venue 72) 668 2019. 27—29 Aug. 7.30pm. £7.50 (£6.50).
I Celts At The Caledonian (Fringe) Caledonian Brewery
. (Venue 94). 220 1550: Altan 28 Aug. 8pm. £5; Four Men And A Dog. 3 Sept. 8pm. £5.
FALSTAFF
Baritone Donald Maxwell used his late-night ‘The Return Of The Music Box’ slot earlier in the Festival to raise a quick topical laugh about updating his insurance policy vis-a-vis the fire at the Playhouse. But if the scheduled performances of Welsh liational Dpera’s ‘Faistaff’, with Maxwell in the title role, had been cancelled, not only his insurers would have been upset.
The Scottish-born Maxwell, known and admired by many people in this country through the highly popular and light-hearted ‘Music Dox’, is a rather neglected voice on the operatic stage here, and this particular production is an ideal opportunity to observe the breadth of his formidable vocal and dramatic talents. Already, WllD’s ‘Falstaff’, premiered in Cardiff in 1988, has toured to flew York, Milan, Paris and Tokyo, although the Festival performances mark the first time the company has been seen in Edinburgh since 1982. Billed as one of the most outstanding productions in the WID’s history, it is conducted by their former Musical Director, Richard Armstrong, who has a strong presence in Edinburgh this year as he enters his first season as Musical Director of Scottish Dpera.
Falstaff
Describing the Milan performances as ‘a bit like taking coals to llewcastle’, Armstrong is clearly delighted with the way both Maxwell and the production have been received worldwide, particularly in Italy. The Edinburgh dates promise similar acclaim - don’t miss it. (Carol Main)
Falstaff (International Festival) Welsh National Opera, Playhouse Theatre, Greenslde Place, 225 5756, 2, 4 Sept, 7.30pm, £8—E35.
58 The List 27 August-9 September 1993