Chamber Music... Take 2!

This morning's sessions of the New Zealand Chamber Music Secondary Schools Chamber Music Competition were again, full of
(be/a)musement. My favourite group today was called The Pink Flipflops , a trio consisting of flute/flute/clarinet.

They walked onstage and the girl given the task of introducing the trio promptly forgot the name of their group, and had to look at another member. Once aforementioned name was remembered the girl introduced the two pieces the group was to play. The first piece "Minuet" was by a composer whose name, in the programme, looked suspiciously like Mozart, but was introduced as being by Mo-Z(as in Zoo)art. This really has got to be one of my pet hates of all time. After the other item was introduced ("O little sweet one" by Bach) the flutes tried to tune. I say tried, because the second flute was a good semitone flat. This took quite a long time to rectify. The minuet finally began and I recognised the melody, soon rendered unrecognisable when the consecutive major 3rds between the flutes in the B section started sounding more like consecutive augmented 4ths. To add to the ambience the clarinet was out of time.

You might think I'm being mean, but I really do admire these groups getting up to perform. I know it's not easy, especially when you are young, so brava to all who tried their best. I can quite forgive the flat flute, the dodgy intonation, the grossly anglicized mispronunciation of Mozart; I cannot forgive the groups (and there were many) who were under-rehearsed and found that fact hideously amusing.