9 July 2004

The Allegri Quartet with James Barton, David Roth, Keith Lovell, Roger Tapping and Bruno Schrecker

For the second weekend's concerts - the Reunion - we returned to the familiar surroundings of St. Myllin's Church, and might as accurately have billed the performers as The Allegri String Octet! The concert began with the Shostakovitch Octet, unfamiliar to many of the audience, and a pleasant surprise as well. The Mozart Quintet presented long-time Llanfyllin concertgoers with the familiar line-up of some years ago - Peter Carter, David Roth, Roger Tapping and Bruno Shrecker, with the first viola part taken by the current incumbent, Dorothea Vogel. Since Roger Tapping left the Allegri, emigrated to Colorado and joined the Takacs Quartet, we have had no opportunity to see him, and it was fortunate that the Takacs were at the beginning of a European tour so that he was able to drive up from Cheltenham for this one performance. For the Brahms Sextet, the present Allegri were joined by Keith Lovell and Bruno Schrecker - again, familiar faces to the Allegri audience, but not often enough seen since they left the quartet.

The audience this weekend also included Patrick Ireland, founding viola of the Allegri String Quartet, and Piers Burton-Page, who has recently written a celebration of the Quartet, "A Quartet in Five Movements", and many of the wives and family of the past and present members of the Quartet, some visiting Llanfyllin for the first time.