Simon Trpceski and friends, Wigmore Hall, London, review: This group should come back

We are accustomed to thinking of Simon Trpceski as a superlative pianist with a hotline to Beethoven, Brahms and the most rebarbative music of the 20th century. On the evidence of this concert we should broaden our focus: he’s a multi-instrumentalist with a winning sound as a folk singer; he’s also a bandleader and an accomplished MC. He’s gathered several virtuosi from his native Macedonia: violinist Aleksandr Krapovski, percussionist Vlatko Nushev, cellist Alexander Somov, and clarinettist/saxophonist Hidan Mamudov who is also a master of the peasant kaval flute.

The idea is that they will induct us into the music of their homeland. Much of the concert was going to be composed (by Pande Shahov), but in the event it all feels improvised from start to finish. Initially we get standard stuff – Balkan knees-ups triple-forte – but gradually the particular musical aesthetic of this impoverished little country becomes discernible behind the thicket of decibels.

The rhythms are complex and irregular, and the scales are modal, sometimes operating simultaneously in keys which seemed to have nothing to do with each other. Drones provide soft carpeting for violin and cello solos; the clarinettist finds a way to accompany his melodies with birdsong – exactly how, I can’t work out, but the effect is magical. There are stretches of jazz, but those aen’t intrusive. Bartok would have loved it all. This group should come back, and unpack their wares with more deliberation. This outing is too headlong, but it is an excellent start.