Isla’s rave review of string quartet’s concert at the castle
The Mid Argyll Arts Association holds a wide variety of concerts for all ages and, to encourage young people into the arts, it offers free tickets to school pupils/students in full-time education.
Kilmory Castle with the exciting Asaka String Quartet was the place to be on Saturday January 27. The association thanks Argyll and Bute Council for allowing the concert to be held there.
The following review of the Asaka Quartet was written by Isla Ranger, one of the young people who benefited from the free ticket scheme.
Isla said: “The concert was wonderful. I am a young violin player myself and it was very inspiring. The music showcased each instrument very well. My favourite was the final piece, the Bax String Quartet No 1 in G major.
“The individual skills in each instrument were on show in the solo sections.
“Opening the concert was Haydn’s String Quartet Opus 54 No 2 which allowed the heights of the First Violin to really shine through.
The Asaka String Quartet.
“The second piece was enjoyable to listen to, with its sections of pizzicato showing a different way the instruments can be played. This was Mendelssohn’s String Quartet opus 12 No 1 in Eb major.
“The shortest piece of the concert was ‘Tjonneblomen’ by Gjermund Haugen, arranged by the Danish String Quartet. It may have been a short piece, but it certainly kept the listeners entertained.
“Overall, I would have loved to hear more about the pieces from the quartet, but they were all very willing to answer questions and speak to the audience after the performance was over.
“I would definitely recommend the Asaka String Quartet and I hope to see them playing again soon.”
The final concert of the 40th anniversary season is the Tim Kliphius Trio in Ardrishaig Public Hall on Saturday March 23, at 7.30pm. The association looks forward to seeing you then.