Roeland Hendrikx, a renowned Belgian clarinetist, enthralled the audience earlier this month at the Thailand Cultural Centre with an engaging performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto In A Major. The concerto was the last instrumental composition Mozart wrote just before his death for Anton Sadler, one of the most accomplished clarinet and the basset horn players in the 18th century.
As evident in the surviving fragments of a manuscript, the piece was initially sketched for the basset horn in G major but was later adapted for the basset clarinet. The basset clarinet is, in fact, a rare and expensive instrument even during Mozart’s time. It is larger than a standard clarinet and can be played to as low as C as opposed to a standard clarinet’s E or E-flat. Hendrikx’s use of a custom-made basset clarinet for the work last Saturday was therefore a rare treat for the audience.
In the Allegro section, Hendrikx opened the solo section with confidence, traversing the whole range of the instrument with wide leaps and arpeggios, constantly keeping the audience on the edge of their seat. In the famous Adagio section, the soloist executed the legato lines with poise, exploring a spectrum of warm colours of the instrument, and offered a well-planned rendition of the cadenza at the end of the B section, again, covering the whole range of the basset clarinet. In the Rondo, Hendrikx closed the concerto with sheer energy; his articulation of notes and varying dynamics, coupled with his relaxed and appealing personality, resulted in a long applause from the audience. For the encore, Hendrikx thrilled the hall again with Hommage À Manuel De Falla, a piece for an unaccompanied clarinet solo by Béla Kovács, with a rich array of dynamics and vibrant colours created by the exciting flamenco rhythm and harmonies.
Also in this concert, Sander Teepen, a young conductor from the Netherlands, directed the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra for the first time with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No.3 and Symphony No.8 In F Major. The overture was a suitable choice for the opening, as the orchestra was well-rehearsed. More use of dynamics — a higher degree of variation from the subtle pianissimo to fortissimo, together with a consistent articulation by the strings in the rising passages, would ensure a more exhilarating finish. Overall, the symphony was performed with flair, with few minute discrepancies. It demonstrated that the RBSO has maintained its standard despite its almost year-long absence due to the pandemic.
Like Hendrikx, Teepen was full of energy and his conducting style was pronounced and fascinating to watch. The skill, experience and professionalism of both artists culminated in a successful and well organised concert, which saw more audiences — especially the younger generation — enthusiastically line up to get autographs and engage with the pair long after the concert ended.
