Merlin Music Society Review May 2007

Merlin Season ends on a High Note

On Tuesday May 8^th, this season’s Merlin concerts ended with two wonderful pianists who played duets for us.  Simon Crawford-Phillips and Philip Moore performed six pieces, ranging from Romantic music by Schubert and Schumann to twentieth-century works.

One of the highlights of the concert was Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, which was transcribed from orchestral music to make a very rich texture on the piano. The passion and commitment of the players were balanced with skilful technique and musicianship, so that the music was strongly communicated to the audience.

The piece I loved the most was Schubert’s Variations on an original theme in Aflat., played just after the interval. The other music of the evening emphasised technical virtuosity, but this one was truly full of song, simple and yet sophisticated at the same time and very beautiful.

The final piece of the evening, Stravinsky’s Firebird, was thrilling. It was transcribed from the orchestral music by Philip Moore, and used the full range of the piano to underline the dramatic language and rhythms in a very creative way. I would never have imagined that all those sounds and atmospheres could be projected by just one piano.

I loved the concert, and I thought the communication between the two pianists, as well as their marvellous technique and musical passion, was amazing. It widened my horizons as a pianist.

The review is by Priscilla Yeung, a sixth-former at HMSG who is a keen pianist and singer.