A sunny Wednesday lunchtime was the backdrop to our latest recital in All Saints’ Church on Wednesday 26 January, given by sharply-suited Form 7 pianist Matthew Everall. As part of his preparations for his forthcoming Pre-U performance recital, Matthew treated a large audience in the Church to a well-prepared programme of Beethoven, Satie, Joplin and Fats Waller.
Matthew’s playing of the first two movements of the Beethoven ‘Moonlight Sonata’ immediately captivated the audience, drawing them into the gorgeous sounds that he conjured up from the piano. His musicality and shaping of the music was exemplary, displaying wonderful tonal control and voicing of the different strands of the music. Matthew was also in complete control in the change in mood from the opening slow movement to the contrasting Scherzo and Trio, in which his understanding of the music’s rhetorical gestures was impressive.
Despite the need for two re-positionings of the piano as the recital progressed to avoid the glare of the sun, Matthew continued to impress in a series of shorter works. Satie’s famous Gymnopédie No. 1 was well-crafted and compelling, and Matthew was fearless in his command of the technical challenges of Scott Joplin, with his love of the Maple Leaf Rag coming across very strongly. This paved the way to his final piece: Fats Waller’s Ain’t Misbehavin’, which entertained the audience brilliantly thanks to Matthew’s stylish command of the swing style.
A hugely impressive and mature recital – many congratulations, Matthew!
Click here to watch it!
