And so to Peter Donohoe's recital at the Hall for Cornwall on Thursday 5th November. A concert
this writer has been looking forward to as he has neither heard Donohue live before and it is rare for HfC to host such a leading musician in solo recital. He was not disappointed Donohue is a musician who has much to share and is generous but not effusive.
His programme
Mozart Piano Sonata in A Major K.331
Schubert Four Impromptus D.899
Interval
Schumann Abegg Variations
Skryabin Piano Sonata No 2 in G sharp Minor (Sonata-Fantasie) Op.19
Mendelssohn Andante And Rondo Capriccioso Op 14
Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 in C sharp minor G244
The choice of works (all of which bar the Skryabin were played from memory) popular but not exactly profound. On the face of it some crowd pleasers, a safe if little known early twentieth century work and some demonstrable pianistic show stoppers. Most pieces were short (which I know at least one audience member found to his taste) but this writer found much to learn from the works in the hands of a restrained and post-modern interpretor of the quality of Peter Donohue.
I often wonder when pianists (and orchestras for that matter) visit what they must consider provincial cities (Truro is not on the international concert artist circuit), whether they construct programmes which a gatekeeper has suggested should be middle of the road, or whether this is the preferred concert choice of Mr Donohue. I found him less comfortable in the first half than the second.
The first notes of the Mozart reminded one just how unresponsive and dull the sound of the Hall for Cornwall is, how difficult for the piano to give us the full range of its colour and gradations of tone and just how badly Cornwall needs a proper concert hall - why not spend a couple of million converting St John's Church on Lemon Hill which is a replica of the Wigmore Hall (The HfC is hoping to expand the size of its auditorium to 800 seats in a £17m refurb -will the concert pianist will be high on the architect's and acoustician's agenda) The Steinway piano was positioned at the front of the stage which overcomes the sense on stage performers say of almost "estrangement" from the audience - almost as if they are in another room. This was exacerbated by the audience being plunged into complete darkness with the piano illuminated by a single spot (thus making the programme notes unreadable and clapping to occur in the middle of the sonata between movements - no matter ). The openinig of the sonata was reprised as the first few bars were interrupted by a mobile phone ringing.....Mr Donohue was unfazed. At the piano his figure is not unlike the silhouette's of Johannes Brahms - portly, stately even and flowing locks. He does not sway he only very occasionally makes any concession to the showmanship (the last few notes of the Liszt which is entirely excussable), he calmly dazzles.
The lighting had the happy coincidence for me that Mr Donohue's hands were mirrored in the deep black board and I had a double view of his brilliant technique. One of the most appealing sensations for the listener of Donohue's playing is the balance he achieves between the voicings of his hands - there is a simplicity and clarity in his playing and this made the Mozart at times thrilling . He is not overly inventive but he has a particular delicacy when crossing hands as for example in the fourth varitaion in the first movement and the Trio of the second.
There is a body of pianists who feel that Mozart cannot be played on the piano - as it defies expression on the instrument - and I do not just mean those who advocate the use of the fortepiano. Anyone playing Mozart on a contemporary concert piano has to decide how to engage with his humour, playfulness, simplicity and and to some degree I had some issues with Donohue's post-modern approach. At several points the fundamental rhythmic logic that is essential to underly any interpretation of Mozart was disconcerted, ruffled by rushed ornamentation almost with sheer over technique. This bravura style of playing (favoured by the great Russian pianists) which is more appropriate in the later part of Donohue's programme is less at home with the filigree, transparent subtelties of this simple, crafted sonata. Maybe Donohue was distracted by the muffled accompaniment of Truro Football Club Firework display which rumbled occasionally as an offstage accompaniment. Mozart would have been delighted.
That said the Coda of the Alla Turca final movement (a rare piece of fatuity in Mozart's oeuvre) works on a modern grand in a way it could never have done on a contemporary Mozartian fortepiano. But the fun of the piece was not quite realised.
The Schubert Impromptus Op.94 have all the appeal and attraction that Schubert's leider can muster - there are strong echos of Beethoven in the harmonic development and passagework but oh boy can schubert write a tune. Emotionally the Impromptus have all the contemplative dolefulness of Schubert's most heart rending romantic self-absorbtion, but then a contrasting nobleness of spirit and joie de vivre. He is remarkably economic with his material but even the restrained and beautifully unsentimental Donohue could not resist a little bit of vamping in Schubert's most noble major key passages. The problem is that this material became the quintessential repertoire for the salon pianist. So you are damned whichever way you go....except you are not damned as they are so appealing!
After the interval. We were given a superb rendition of Schumann's announcement to the world the Abegg Variations. What an astonishing talent burst onto the world with Robert Schumann. Donohue was in his element. And the same can be said for the wonderful piece of Mendelssohn, Andante and Rondo Capricioso. For some reason he is unfashionable in the concert hall - but this is completely undeserved and Mr Donohue for reminding us what a superb composer Mendelssohn is.
The Scriabin sonata was for me the most interesting piece on the programme in the expectation - unknown to me who perseveres at the piano with his elusive Etudes - pieces of sometimes dark and impenetrable meaning . Remarkably much less dissonant and dramatically complex this sonata was a bit of a disappointment - its written in the prevailing romantic form and seemed unremarkable - a curiosity and not a great piece to advocate Scriabin in the concert hall. It had none of the atonality and sheer strangeness of the later mostly shorter works, but it had some characteristic rhythmic idiosyncracies. I was also somewhat distracted by the bright red socks of the pianist's page turner.
The Liszt was tremendous. What a showpiece but Donohue is not showy - just a final Lisztian flurry on the last note. Donohue relaxed in the two encores a piece I recognised but could not identify and not announced and Chopin. For someone of his eminence it suggested that the concert platform is still a challenge
IN all a thought provoking recital with a populist twist but none the worse for that. Donohue is a difficult man to read as an interpreter. I missed the pre concert talk which was more biographic apparently than talking about the music. Well done Hall for Cornwall for getting such a good pianist into Cornwall.
this writer has been looking forward to as he has neither heard Donohue live before and it is rare for HfC to host such a leading musician in solo recital. He was not disappointed Donohue is a musician who has much to share and is generous but not effusive.
His programme
Mozart Piano Sonata in A Major K.331
Schubert Four Impromptus D.899
Interval
Schumann Abegg Variations
Skryabin Piano Sonata No 2 in G sharp Minor (Sonata-Fantasie) Op.19
Mendelssohn Andante And Rondo Capriccioso Op 14
Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 in C sharp minor G244
The choice of works (all of which bar the Skryabin were played from memory) popular but not exactly profound. On the face of it some crowd pleasers, a safe if little known early twentieth century work and some demonstrable pianistic show stoppers. Most pieces were short (which I know at least one audience member found to his taste) but this writer found much to learn from the works in the hands of a restrained and post-modern interpretor of the quality of Peter Donohue.
I often wonder when pianists (and orchestras for that matter) visit what they must consider provincial cities (Truro is not on the international concert artist circuit), whether they construct programmes which a gatekeeper has suggested should be middle of the road, or whether this is the preferred concert choice of Mr Donohue. I found him less comfortable in the first half than the second.
The first notes of the Mozart reminded one just how unresponsive and dull the sound of the Hall for Cornwall is, how difficult for the piano to give us the full range of its colour and gradations of tone and just how badly Cornwall needs a proper concert hall - why not spend a couple of million converting St John's Church on Lemon Hill which is a replica of the Wigmore Hall (The HfC is hoping to expand the size of its auditorium to 800 seats in a £17m refurb -will the concert pianist will be high on the architect's and acoustician's agenda) The Steinway piano was positioned at the front of the stage which overcomes the sense on stage performers say of almost "estrangement" from the audience - almost as if they are in another room. This was exacerbated by the audience being plunged into complete darkness with the piano illuminated by a single spot (thus making the programme notes unreadable and clapping to occur in the middle of the sonata between movements - no matter ). The openinig of the sonata was reprised as the first few bars were interrupted by a mobile phone ringing.....Mr Donohue was unfazed. At the piano his figure is not unlike the silhouette's of Johannes Brahms - portly, stately even and flowing locks. He does not sway he only very occasionally makes any concession to the showmanship (the last few notes of the Liszt which is entirely excussable), he calmly dazzles.
The lighting had the happy coincidence for me that Mr Donohue's hands were mirrored in the deep black board and I had a double view of his brilliant technique. One of the most appealing sensations for the listener of Donohue's playing is the balance he achieves between the voicings of his hands - there is a simplicity and clarity in his playing and this made the Mozart at times thrilling . He is not overly inventive but he has a particular delicacy when crossing hands as for example in the fourth varitaion in the first movement and the Trio of the second.
There is a body of pianists who feel that Mozart cannot be played on the piano - as it defies expression on the instrument - and I do not just mean those who advocate the use of the fortepiano. Anyone playing Mozart on a contemporary concert piano has to decide how to engage with his humour, playfulness, simplicity and and to some degree I had some issues with Donohue's post-modern approach. At several points the fundamental rhythmic logic that is essential to underly any interpretation of Mozart was disconcerted, ruffled by rushed ornamentation almost with sheer over technique. This bravura style of playing (favoured by the great Russian pianists) which is more appropriate in the later part of Donohue's programme is less at home with the filigree, transparent subtelties of this simple, crafted sonata. Maybe Donohue was distracted by the muffled accompaniment of Truro Football Club Firework display which rumbled occasionally as an offstage accompaniment. Mozart would have been delighted.
That said the Coda of the Alla Turca final movement (a rare piece of fatuity in Mozart's oeuvre) works on a modern grand in a way it could never have done on a contemporary Mozartian fortepiano. But the fun of the piece was not quite realised.
The Schubert Impromptus Op.94 have all the appeal and attraction that Schubert's leider can muster - there are strong echos of Beethoven in the harmonic development and passagework but oh boy can schubert write a tune. Emotionally the Impromptus have all the contemplative dolefulness of Schubert's most heart rending romantic self-absorbtion, but then a contrasting nobleness of spirit and joie de vivre. He is remarkably economic with his material but even the restrained and beautifully unsentimental Donohue could not resist a little bit of vamping in Schubert's most noble major key passages. The problem is that this material became the quintessential repertoire for the salon pianist. So you are damned whichever way you go....except you are not damned as they are so appealing!
After the interval. We were given a superb rendition of Schumann's announcement to the world the Abegg Variations. What an astonishing talent burst onto the world with Robert Schumann. Donohue was in his element. And the same can be said for the wonderful piece of Mendelssohn, Andante and Rondo Capricioso. For some reason he is unfashionable in the concert hall - but this is completely undeserved and Mr Donohue for reminding us what a superb composer Mendelssohn is.
The Scriabin sonata was for me the most interesting piece on the programme in the expectation - unknown to me who perseveres at the piano with his elusive Etudes - pieces of sometimes dark and impenetrable meaning . Remarkably much less dissonant and dramatically complex this sonata was a bit of a disappointment - its written in the prevailing romantic form and seemed unremarkable - a curiosity and not a great piece to advocate Scriabin in the concert hall. It had none of the atonality and sheer strangeness of the later mostly shorter works, but it had some characteristic rhythmic idiosyncracies. I was also somewhat distracted by the bright red socks of the pianist's page turner.
The Liszt was tremendous. What a showpiece but Donohue is not showy - just a final Lisztian flurry on the last note. Donohue relaxed in the two encores a piece I recognised but could not identify and not announced and Chopin. For someone of his eminence it suggested that the concert platform is still a challenge
IN all a thought provoking recital with a populist twist but none the worse for that. Donohue is a difficult man to read as an interpreter. I missed the pre concert talk which was more biographic apparently than talking about the music. Well done Hall for Cornwall for getting such a good pianist into Cornwall.
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