Ribble Valley International Piano Week - Steven Osborne in recital

Piano galore day! After the July meeting of a new piano meetup group in Clitheroe (very good fun) and a tasty meal, M and I headed towards Westholme School for the final concert in this year's Ribble Valley International Piano Week. The Piano Week has been on my radar for a while... as has stellar pianist Steven Osborne. This year the two coincided nicely.

Steven's recital to close the Piano Week for 2016 was a programme of Schubert, Debussy and Rachmaninov:

Schubert – Moment Musical (D 780 No 2)
Debussy – Images (series I), Children’s Corner, D’un Cahier d’esquisses, L’Isle joyeuse
Rachmaninov – Études-Tableaux Op 33; Études-Tableaux Op 39 Nos 2 and 9

Throughout, Steven played with elegance and simple absorption in the music; his quiet concentration drew in the audience and it was soon very obvious why he is held in such high regard. The Schubert piece was fantastic and certainly got everyone's attention - at the end there was complete silence before the start of Debussy's Images. The whole first half was a superb performance, firm but smooth with no harshness, fitting the music very well. Highlights - Schubert plus the Images pieces and L'Isle joyeuse.

The character of the Rachmaninov Études-Tableaux was very different. Steven introduced the pieces as expression's of Rachmaninov's deep emotions laid bare. Whilst excellently played they were most definitely unsettling and it was a more difficult listening experience. The encore, a prelude by the same composer, following from the content of the
Études-Tableaux was almost the opposite - calm acceptance of fate.

A very good evening and a good showcase for the Piano Week. Apparently 2017 is the event's 30th anniversary (I think I heard that correctly!) and the dates for 2017 are 19th-22nd July.

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