Music / “A Collection of Favourites”, Andrew Rumsey & Thomas Azoury. At Wesley Music Centre, February 11. Reviewed by ROB KENNEDY.

FIREWORKS, nostalgia, joie de vivre with a touch of charm and tomfoolery filled this concert of piano and clarinet music by two classy musicians.

With Andrew Rumsey on piano and Thomas Azoury playing the clarinet, they began this collection of favourites with, “Sholem-alekhem, rov Feidman!”, by Béla Kovács. From behind the audience, Azoury began to play, walking slowly in time with the music as he got on to the stage. This piece sings, dances and cries, and then at the end of this rousing work, Azoury shouted out a loud, joyful HEY!

The flowing and lyrical, “Cantilène”, by Louis Cahuzac, followed. The many scalic runs in this piece, for piano and clarinet, were deliciously played by both performers. 

Rumsey’s warm and sensitive playing in the “Romance in A Major”, by Amy Beach (arr. Azoury), was matched by the glowing tones Azoury created on his clarinet.

Capable of almost any sound possible, the dynamic range and tonal colours on the clarinet are like few other instruments. While Azoury jokingly said about the Beach piece, which was written for piano and cello, Azoury arranged it, because everything sounded better on the clarinet; he’s not far wrong.

“Viktor’s Tale”, by John Williams, from the 2004 movie, “The Terminal”, is a delightfully quirky and playful piece. Williams perfectly matches his music to the lead character in this movie. He authentically captures the tale of the hapless character, as did the performers.

“Elegie”, by Gabriel Fauré, is an iconic work. Arranged by Azoury from cello to clarinet, it begins almost stately. Some of its lower notes in the clarinet got lost in the voice of the piano, but it soon broke out into a high, lush melody. A sad, solemn work.

The gentle, “Canzonetta” Op.19, by Gabriel Pierné, is an even, rolling work that remains smooth and flowing throughout. Pastoral-like, it reminded of nature.

“Solo de Concours”, by André Messager, is a favourite work of Azoury. With its highly coloured content, and a strong solo section, it showed off the diversity of the clarinet. It was easy to hear why he loved it.

“Ave Maria”, by Franz Schubert (arr. Liszt), played solo piano is a universal tune. As they say about all good tunes, they can sound good on any instrument, and this sounded sublime.

Like the theme from a famous movie, the unabashedly sweet “Romanza”, by Michele Mangani followed. It had an undeniable sentimental feel, but it sounded great.

One wonders if the “Carmen Fantaisie”, by Pablo de Sarasate (arr. Baldeyrou) of Bizet’s music is not an actual rewriting of the work. The many extra notes on this exciting arrangement proved that yes, this is more rewriting than an arrangement, but it was worth it.

Finishing the program with, “Feeling Good”, by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, the sound of this profound pop piece with its jazzy feel, left the audience just as the song suggests, feeling good. 

Then, as an encore, they performed the dynamic, “Libertango”, by Astor Piazzolla. These two musicians don’t just work well as a duo, but for the past 13 years performing together, they have created many memorable concerts, this was one of them.