Performing to a full house

Classical notes

The performance was organised by the Bangalore School of Music at the Alliance Francaise. The trio Christopher Bouwman on oboe, Wouter van Diepen on clarinet and Bram Van Sambeek on bassoon are friends — all from the Royal Conservatoire in Hague.

They strove to combine a lively presentation with an engaging and adventurous programme. “We only perform classical music and have not ventured into pop and other forms at all. We’re trained classical musicians and are comfortable playing classical music,” said Christopher. Among the pieces that the group played were works of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. “We always try and perform a mix of songs from the classical and romantic period. In Sonatas, the composer sets the song in such a way that it begins in a slow pace and gathers momentum towards the end. There’s never a dull moment,” he added.  

 The group began with Beethoven’s compositions and slowly moved onto works of Robert Schumann, Florent Schmitt, Camille Saint and ended it with works of Francis Poulenc. When asked to pick out their favourite works, Christopher said, “It’s like asking me to choose my favourite ice cream, it’s a tough thing. All classical compositions are my favourites. I would like to play them all. I don’t think there is a single composer we haven’t played thus far.”  

A few in the audience were well read and had knowledge about classical music. “Some pieces were a little heavy but the trio did well in performing the toughest of pieces. It’s quite challenging to perform them. Their coordination was perfect,” said Simon Joseph, a member of the audience.

Anitha Rao, a regular at classical concerts in the City said, “It might come across as a bit monotonous. But if you have learnt classical music then you would appreciate and understand what’s being played.”