Merlin Music Society Review September 2006

John Lill CBE at the Blake Theatre, Monmouth

Those who attended the piano recital on Saturday were expecting a fine performance.  Their expectations were exceeded as John Lill’s character and command of technique came through in pieces by Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin and Brahms.  This was his sixth appearance for the Merlin Music Society and he was very warmly received.

In a particularly good, though restrained, first half, Beethoven’s ‘Waldstein’ Sonata in C major was performed expressively and with great contrast of mood.  Lill was clearly very relaxed (as we might expect in a career lasting over forty years) and was able to control the pianissimo moments at the opening to great effect.  As in much of his music from this period, Beethoven is not afraid to use parts of the piano’s range, and particularly tone colours, with which we are not so familiar.  The close, dark and low-down chords he uses early on seem remarkably contemporary in their percussive, repetitive way.  The Schumann ‘Faschingsschwank aus wein’ (Carnival Jest) op. 26 is something of a relief after the darkness of the Beethoven, the lively, waltz themes creating a fresher atmosphere.  All this was played with great control and tact, Lill seemingly saving himself for the acrobatics to come.

In the second half, Chopin’s Ballade No. 4 in F minor op. 52 shows all of that composer’s ability to evoke the wistful and rather haunting feel of the salons of the time, an ‘audience friendly’ piece which, like the Schumann, is particularly lively because of its waltz like themes.  Coming as it did immediately after the interval, it is easy to see why Chopin’s music occupies such a central place in the repertoire; it creates its own atmosphere so readily.  Lill was clearly at home with the emotional message of the piece.

The recital concluded with the Brahms ‘Variations & Fugue on a theme of Handel’ op. 24, which is made up of twenty-five variations and a fugue, and goes through a range of moods and styles, all excellently executed, and finishing in majestic cascades of octaves and thirds against the fugue melody.  This was the point at which Lill seemed to be at his most powerful and energetic.  The seemingly fiendishly difficult passages, especially towards the end, were played without a hint of challenge, Lill’s clearly faultless technique allowing him to power through to the very last chord.

For an encore the performance was rounded off with Prokofiev’s energetic Toccata op.11. The audience was captivated throughout the performance and had nothing but admiration for the playing of this popular artist.

Andrew Hayman, Form VI.1 Monmouth School

The reviewer is a Music Scholar at Monmouth School and hopes to become an Organ or Choral Scholar at Cambridge in two years time.