Lammermuir Festival: ZRI ensemble promise vibrant mix of Schubert, Brahms and (maybe) Taylor Swift

ZRI

Is Taylor Swift about to feature at the Lammermuir Festival? In a manner of speaking, yes. But before East Lothian’s Swifties race to the box office, be assured the Pennsylvanian pop sensation will not be there in person. The ZRI ensemble will, however, they’re much more reasonably priced, and Swift’s Shake It Off is just one of many quirky encores they can produce from their wide-ranging repertoire.

ZRI was formed 12 years ago by clarinettist/director Ben Harlan and dominates the final Saturday (14 September) of this year’s 12-day festival, playing three different programmes (Schubert at the Hedgehog Tavern, Brahms and the Gypsy, and Janáček - Love, Mania and Murder) in three successive venues. Miss that, and there’s a separate ‘Scots’ gig in Perth the following evening.  

The ensemble’s initials stand for “Zum Roten Igel”, or “To the Red Hedgehog”, the former Vienna pub where Brahms and Schubert enjoyed listening to Gypsy bands. “It’s probably where Brahms got his inspiration for his Hungarian Dances,” Harlan reckons. “There’s a famous silhouette with him smoking a cigar, and on the floor is a little red hedgehog. He was a frequent patron, liked his beer and loved the American song Ta-ra-ra Boom De Ay, banging his beer glass in time to it.”

Such an image resonates well with ZRI’s folksy, vigorous-bordering-on-riotous performance style, stemming from its unique make-up of clarinet, violin, cello, accordion and dulcimer-like santouri. “We started life with Brahms and his Clarinet Quintet. I wanted to play that repertoire, but in a way that would evoke the time Brahms was living in, a sound world more visceral than just string quartet and clarinet.” 

Similarly, the opening Schubert programme is a tart makeover of the composer’s String Quintet. “Both pieces already sound like they’re coming from some kind of Hungarian Zigeuner tradition. We want to bring that out, let audiences hear how these great composers were real people, not God-like characters.”

As for ZRI’s feisty Klezmer leanings, English-born Harlan is, himself, from German Jewish parentage. His earlier involvement with the Klezmer-influenced band Burning Bush led to a brief appearance as a street musician in Polanski’s harrowing 2002 movie The Pianist set in war-torn, ghettoised Warsaw. “Jon [Banks], our accordionist, was also in Burning Bush. We both wanted Klezmer to continue playing a part in ZRI,” he says.  

If there’s a sense that anything goes, look no further than ZRI’s third Lammermuir programme, a liberal reimagining of Janáček’s String Quartet No 1 “Kreuzer Sonata”. Not only do they invest this heated Czech music with a whole new density of textures, they end somewhat provocatively with a surprise segue into Charlie Chaplain’s Smile, the heartwarming song from his 1936 film Modern Times.

“That happened by chance,” Harlan explains. “While we like to dive into the depths of despair in our concerts, we also like to scale joyous peaks. Rehearsing the Janáček early on we reached the end realising there wasn’t the bittersweetness we like to portray in concerts. Out of nowhere Matt [Sharp], our cellist, began strumming the chords of Smile and we instinctively joined in with a sung arrangement we did for our silent movie programme. After the despair of the Janáček, it’s like we give the audience permission to weep.” 

Which is effectively what Creative Scotland did with its 11th-hour funding rejection for last year’s Lammermuir Festival. With support now partially restored for two years it’s heartening to see a typically wide-ranging 2024 line-up. Highlights include a new chamber production of Britten’s Albert Herring by Scottish Opera, London Voices in Stockhausen’s Stimmung, Baroque music by Concerto Copenhagen, chamber music from the Maxwell Quartet, Van Baerle Trio and Hebrides Ensemble, pianist Jeremy Denk, and an orchestral finale by the Royal Northern Sinfonia. 

And just to be clear, ZRI’s Swift cover arrangement isn’t actually included in its advertised programmes, but if you scream enough encouragement maybe, just maybe, they’ll shake it off. They also do Donna Summer.

ZRI are at Humbie, Stenton & East Linton on 14 September as part of the 2024 Lammermuir Festival, which runs from 5-16 September in venues throughout East Lothian. Details at www.lammermuirfestival.co.uk. They also play Perth Concert Hall on 15 Sep. Details at www.perththreatreandconcerthall.com