Max Baillie’s musical triumph!

The prodigious talent of violinist Max Baillie was on display recently at the 10th concert in his St Leonards concert series, which began in 2021, writes Laurie Temple.

Max started creating these musical events in order to bring together “top musicians, who work well together and who bring spontaneity, creativity, and live storytelling, to their playing.” Also, he states, “to bring an exciting mix of traditional, exploratory, and eclectic music to the local community, which is my lovely home!”

A graduate of the Yehudi Menuhin School, Max is sought-after as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestra leader both in the UK and abroad. His musical life reflects his interest in the cross-pollination of musical styles, demonstrated in his various musical projects, many of which we are fortunate to enjoy in Hastings.

For this concert, he brought together several internationally recognised talents, including his father, cellist Alexander Baillie, Alasdair Beatson, a world-renowned pianist, and violist, Anne Beilby.

The programme for the concert in Christ Church, St Leonard’s, (an impressive venue with superb acoustic quality), was Beethoven’s Piano Trio Opus 1 and Brahms’ Piano Quartet No.1 Opus 25.

Beethoven’s Opus 1 is a set of three piano trios, written for piano, violin, and cello, first performed in 1795 in the house of Prince Lichnovsky to whom they are dedicated.

These trios are a signal to the world, by Beethoven, that he had arrived! They were an instant hit with the public. Piano trios enable every instrument to be prominently heard and benefit from the large range and full sound that the piano provides. Beethoven’s piano trios can feel at times like a full symphony and this was certainly true on the evening in Christ Church!

The opening of the piece starts in the key of C minor, but then Beethoven characteristically destabilises this, by moving the notes up a half-step to change key so that the piece becomes impassioned and turbulent.

The piece moves from simple, melodic variations to impassioned fireworks. Typical Beethoven entertainment! The musicians conveyed these movements with superb balance and passionate vigour before setting off on the finale like a steeplechase. The fleet-fingered playing and barely contained excitement transmitted to the audience sitting in a semi-circle around them.

The Brahms piece was very different. Where Beethoven mainly used short staccato phrases, the Brahms piece was full of long drawn-out expressions, and Max encouraged the audience to close their eyes, and “enjoy the spaciousness of the piece.”

The piece opens simply with the pianist shaping the line and the other players gradually entering, their playing filled with emotion.

The players really get to the heart of the matter in the soulful poco adagio, and while they in no way lack heft when needed, they bring a dancing quality to their playing, thus illuminating the many textures of the music, especially the underlying feeling of despair and sadness.

The piece was fuelled by waves of longing and Max described to the audience the yearning and the unfulfilled love in Brahms’s life.

Despite the numerous highlights in the piece, it was the finale that ensured instant success for Brahms. Drawing on his early experience of concert tours with the Hungarian violinist Remenyi, Brahms designated this movement as “in the gypsy style“.

The highlight of the finale was the pianist, Alasdair Beatson, playing this gypsy cadenza. This was when the lid really came off! His fingerwork was stunning, played at a blistering pace, yet always with a delicacy of touch that ensured that the strings were never overwhelmed. At the end the audience erupted, jumping to their feet, cheering and whooping for more!

Max has an exciting forthcoming programme of monthly classical concerts along with other projects aimed at bringing together top musicians from a variety of disciplines and musical genres.

For more information about all of these events, you can join the mailing list here.

(Thanks to Charles Davies Photography, for the publicity photos.)

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