After thoroughly enjoying Angela Hewitt's February concert at the National Arts Centre, 3 friends and I attended her chamber concert on 7th May at Christ Church Cathedral. Promoted by the Chamber Players of Canada, the recital was in aid of the Bruyère Foundation and, according to their representative and the Ottawa Citizen's review, raised over $26,000 for the Foundation. Our group arrived very early (on advice from Chamber Players regulars) and found good seats in the front of the 'regular' section. By the time the concert started with speeches, the cathedral was very definitely full.
The programme comprised of: 10 of Bach's 15 Three-Part Inventions (Sinfonias); Variations and Fugue, Op. 25 'Eroica' by Beethoven; then, after the interval, Bach's French Suite No.3 in B minor and Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24 by Brahms. Although not an enormous Bach lover, I did enjoy the French Suite particularly well along with the Beethoven variations. Of note, presumably because of its rarity, Ms Hewitt was momentarily distracted early on in the F Major Invention, although restarted and continued with professionalism and grace. Ms Hewitt played 2 encores (in between taking many rounds of applause and flowers), both well known pieces, but my memory fails me.... The whole performance was really captivating; I found myself very relaxed whilst intently listening, in particular during the Beethoven piece.
One of the benefits of being in a cathedral rather than right at the back of Southam Hall was that it was easier to hear the different sound of the Fazioli piano. My theory (as substantiated by an interview video I found online here) is that the timbre, which is very clear and pure, particularly at the bass end, best suits her playing style, Bach in particular: "I think they are wonderful pianos. For Bach, they have such clarity - of sound and attack, a huge range of colors...but also more challenging to play...".
The programme comprised of: 10 of Bach's 15 Three-Part Inventions (Sinfonias); Variations and Fugue, Op. 25 'Eroica' by Beethoven; then, after the interval, Bach's French Suite No.3 in B minor and Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24 by Brahms. Although not an enormous Bach lover, I did enjoy the French Suite particularly well along with the Beethoven variations. Of note, presumably because of its rarity, Ms Hewitt was momentarily distracted early on in the F Major Invention, although restarted and continued with professionalism and grace. Ms Hewitt played 2 encores (in between taking many rounds of applause and flowers), both well known pieces, but my memory fails me.... The whole performance was really captivating; I found myself very relaxed whilst intently listening, in particular during the Beethoven piece.
One of the benefits of being in a cathedral rather than right at the back of Southam Hall was that it was easier to hear the different sound of the Fazioli piano. My theory (as substantiated by an interview video I found online here) is that the timbre, which is very clear and pure, particularly at the bass end, best suits her playing style, Bach in particular: "I think they are wonderful pianos. For Bach, they have such clarity - of sound and attack, a huge range of colors...but also more challenging to play...".
Summer is fast approaching and with it the large number of music festivals in & around Ottawa. No tickets yet booked for both chamber festivals, which are July/August (Music and Beyond and Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival) but we are attending shows by Robert Plant and Elvis Costello at the Ottawa Jazz Festival in June.
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