PrettyInScarlett

Two concerts in short succession to help see off the winter blues, both very satisfying. First up was Jean-Philippe Collard's solo performance on 7th February as a replacement for an injured Louis Lortie. A sizeable amount of Liszt remained on the programme in the form of the B minor Sonata , however the first half of the performance was dedicated to Debussy ( Six Preludes from Book 1 ) and Chopin. I was acquainted with 2 of the 6 Debussy pieces, La Sérénade interrompue and La Cathédrale engloutie , but less so with the other 4. Collard, to my eyes, played with a very measured seated position - the emotive textures of the Debussy Preludes weren't reflected in his gestures - although I still found the 6 Preludes very interesting. The first Chopin piece, Scherzo No. 3 in C sharp minor, Op 39 , came as something of a wake-up call after La Cathédrale engloutie ! The three Chopin pieces clearly engaged the audience, who eagerly applauded after the Scherzo. There was no such gap b...