Bridge House Theatre, Warwick

Sunday, January 13

Now the Arts Council England insists on judging all events in degrees of ‘excellence’, there is no better place to start to understand what excellence means than at the Bridge House Theatre.

Sunday afternoon was the re-start of Leamington Music’s Winter Concert series, part of Music in the Round around the country.

With the probable demise of the Birmingham Chamber Music Society, Leamington Music seems likely to play an increasingly important role in achieving excellence as champions of chamber music in the West Midlands.

The Kadinsky String Trio, the Leopold String Trio and the Diaz Trio have recorded the three Opus 9 Trios.

I can hardly wait for the recording by the Ludwig Trio, brought together by Peter Cropper – very well known to most of the audience as leader of The Lindsays.

Peter paid tribute to the warmth and intimacy created by the wooden construction of the Bridge House. He introduced the three Opus 9 Trios as individual masterpieces and offered a challenging afternoon.

And so it was – full of energy, humour and technical brilliance from Cropper (violin), James Boyd (viola) and Paul Watkins (cello). Cropper is clearly an important mentor for James Boyd and Paul Watkins, who grew up together at the Yehudi Menuhin School.

Watkins is one of the most outstanding young cellists in the UK today and he provided some powerful interpretation in the 1st movement of Trio No 2.

In his own way, Boyd brought humour to the event with some remarkable viola playing – almost showing off in the second movement of Trio No 1.

Indeed, the audience was allowed to giggle and titter at the end of that movement.

Throughout the playing of all three Trios, it was evident that there is huge respect for Cropper’s leadership and a great amount of enjoyment from playing together.

The two words which best describe the concert are amazing and outstanding.

Seldom will such excellence be heard in the West Midlands, and a full audience appreciated every moment of the event.

Clive Peacock