New year concert: Danny Driver in recital, Darlington

My review of the latest Darlington Piano Society concert, Danny Driver on 11th January, is featured in BBC Music Magazine's 'You Review' feature here. Notwithstanding the qualities of Maria Marchant and Clare Hammond, this concert was the high point so far of the current Darlington Piano Society season. My edited comments follow below.

The recital programme was:

Handel: Suite no. 5 in E major HWV 430
Thomas Adès - Three Mazurkas Op. 27
Beethoven - Sonata no. 28 in A major Op. 101

C.P.E.Bach Fantasie in F sharp minor H300
Schumann Fantasy in C major Op. 17

Driver briefly introduced the themes of each half of the concert. Handel’s Suite No. 5 opened the afternoon's music– enjoyable, especially the Air and variations ‘The Harmonious Blacksmith’; in very great contrast to the Thomas Adès Mazurkas which followed. In these, we were treated to a taste of Adès' humour, in particular in the third Mazurka with its interwoven multiple elements. The first half culminated in a very high quality performance of Beethoven's Sonata No. 28. In particular I enjoyed the second movement, Vivace alla Marcia: a subtle hint of darkness behind the merry facade; this fed in to the much more contemplative Adagio, ma non troppo.

Following on from Beethoven’s reveries, the second half of the performance was all about Fantasy; after a brief introduction to CPE Bach (another composer with disdain for strict musical rules) we heard his Fantaisie H300, which was very enjoable. Far ahead of the style of his contemporaries, the mixture of chordal and sequential melodies and ever-changing key signatures felt very modern. A much more mixed reaction to Schumann's Fantasy- I felt the second movement was almost too dense at times; after this the final movement, Langsam getragen. Durchweg leise zu halten, felt like a sweet release. I'm sure I heard a quote from the Moonlight Sonata....

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