Rob Plane laughs that there was a lovely feeling of delayed gratification when he joined Ensemble 360 three years ago – an ensemble he had long admired and followed from afar.
Category
🎵
MusicTranscript
00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspaper. It's lovely
00:06this afternoon to speak to Robert Playton. Now, the Chichester Chamber Concert Series
00:10for Autumn 2024 into Spring 2025 is just about to open and it is opening with Ensemble 360,
00:18of which Robert, you are the clarinetist. Now, tell me what we've got coming. You were
00:23just telling me a little bit about the programme now, and it sounds fantastic, a lovely way
00:27to start the series. Yeah, it's a really beautiful programme. It's got two absolute
00:32classics of the repertoire in it. For me, I'm the clarinetist of the group, so I'm
00:38playing the Mozart Clarinet Quintet, which is always a favourite with audiences.
00:44Describe that sublime, what makes it sublime? Well, it's that sort of, I mean, especially
00:49thinking about the slow movement, it just unfolds sort of timelessly. It's just this
00:55incredible beauty that never stops. The clarinet spins its melody over this, you know, beautiful
01:02bed of string colour. It's just so, sort of, all-absorbing, I think. I mean, it's just
01:10utterly peaceful, tranquil, spiritual. It's Mozart at his best, I would say.
01:19Fantastic. And the group has been going for 20-odd years now, but you are a relative newcomer,
01:25and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. What makes it so special to be part of this ensemble?
01:30I'm loving it. I've been a member for three years, but since the group was formed 20 years
01:35ago, I've sort of watched it from afar, so it feels like a real treat to now finally
01:41be a member. I've got fantastic colleagues in the group. We're an 11-piece ensemble,
01:47and six of us will be playing in Chichester. But I adore playing with every one of them.
01:53We have such a wonderful time when we get together, musically and socially, which is
01:59equally important, I would say. And it's just the chance to explore some unusual repertoire
02:06as well. I mean, for instance, in Chichester, we're playing a piece by Prokofiev, Overture
02:12on Hebrew Themes, which doesn't come up too often in concert programmes. It's a piece
02:18for clarinet, piano and string quartet, and it's got a very sort of Eastern feel to it,
02:23like lovely sort of modal melodies and a really quirky piece.
02:27It sounds fantastic and a lovely way to start the latest series. Rob,
02:31really lovely to speak to you. Thank you.
02:33It's a pleasure. Thank you.