Music at Lunchtime: A Reflective Piano Recital

This week’s lunchtime recital was a thoughtful programme of piano music written by contemporary composers given by Form 4 music scholar, Faith.

Her recital started with Stephen Montague’s dramatic Tsunami. Using the full range of the piano and making the most of the dynamic forces possible, Faith rose to the challenge of expressing the piece’s sense of catastrophe and tragedy. The two works by composer Karen Tanaka provided the perfect contrast to this; there was a real sense of space and reflection in their gentleness and careful control of the repeated figures. The emotional high-point was Peter Maxwell Davies’ Farewell to Stromness; the lyricism and expression in the Scottish folk tune brought across the grief-laden, pleading nature of the music. After Graham Fitkin’s sombre Tunch, Faith’s recital finished with the bouncy theme and reflective passages of Montague’s Mira. This was a carefully-crafted programme, performed with great control and presence, which demosntrated the relevance and importance of contemporary music today- congratulations to Faith.

We’re looking forward to next week’s recital, given by Form 7 music scholar, Ivor, playing bassoon.