Last Friday (15th March) I had the absolute privilege of attending a concert honouring Stephen Dodgson’s 100th birthday (two days later) at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. The concert was an hour of Dodgson guitar and woodwind solo and chamber works performed by a talented roster of RWCMD students and curated by Heads of Guitar and Woodwind Helen Sanderson and Robert Plane.
It was apt that the concert took place in the intimate setting of the Weston Gallery, where works of art now hang which once belonged to guitarist Julian Bream, who commissioned and performed several Dodgson pieces.
It was wonderful to hear the works come off the page and very exciting to hear this talented group of young musicians taking real risks with the music and finding many layers of nuance, several of them also giving thoughtful spoken introductions to the pieces – tomorrow’s soloists, chamber musicians and principal players across many UK ensembles, I don’t doubt.
Particular highlights were the vibrant, snappy Duetto Scherzando and the Promenade I. The latter depicts a walk along the seaside promenade which includes a snooze on a bench and dog fight. Guitarists Eosaph Caimbeul and Luke Bartlett literally faced off at this point as their parts portrayed the barking dogs. (Helen Sanderson, a passionate devotee of Dodgson’s guitar writing, told me afterwards she’d spent some time working with the pair on imagining exactly what kind of dog they were each being.)
Both the music and the musicians a delight from start to finish. A fitting birthday tribute.
Programme (Full programme PDF)
- Riversong (guitar duo)
- Duetto Scherzando (flute and clarinet)
- In Search of Folly (flute and guitar)
- Partita No. 1, mvts 1 & 4 (guitar solo)
- Serenade (oboe, clarinet, bassoon)
- Follow the Star (guitar trio)
- Promenade I
This year’s RWCMD John Mills Guitar Prize also takes Stephen Dodgson solo guitar works as its focus.
