klingzeug – Secret Destinations
Austrian Cultural Forum, 19 Nov 2014

I first reviewed the three members of the young Austrian group klingzeug in the curious surroundings of an open-sided pavilion in Innsbruck’s Hofgarten, so it was good to be able to hear them playing indoors. The title of their programme, ‘Secret Destinations’ could have applied to the London venue, the intimate setting of the Austrian Cultural Forum, hidden away in the backstreets near the Albert Hall.  But, in reality, it referred to the Europe-wide range of pieces, from one of the first violin sonatas, by Cima (1610), to a lute concerto by the Austrian Johann Georg Weichenberger (c1700).  This was almost inaudible in Innsbruck, but here the delicacy of David Bergmüller’s playing was evident.

The highlight of the evening was the musically sensitive violin playing of Claudia Norz, notably in Pandolfi’s Sonata la Biancuccia (a musical reflection of a singer in the Innsbruck court) which also demonstrated the virtuosity of her technique.