Prior to the performance at WAAPA Auditorium on Saturday, how many concertgoers, I wondered, would have realised that the opening item on the program, listed as Bagatelle in A minor, was,\u00a0 in fact, \u00a0the much-loved Fur Elise? And as Geoffrey Lancaster ushered in what could arguably be the most famous of any keyboard piece described as bagatelle, there was a faint but nonetheless audible sigh of recognition as Fur Elise registered its presence. Prior to that, we listened to a very brief overture to the celebrated bagatelle, a flurry followed by a more sober statement that led into the piece proper.<\/p>\n
This was of course, standard performance practice in Beethoven\u2019s day.<\/p>\n
But as Fur Elise unfolded, I noticed a number of concertgoers turning to their companions with a puzzled look. Others seemed almost offended.<\/p>\n
These were perfectly understandable reactions because the underlying beat of the bagatelle was often extraordinarily elastic, now an acceleration, now much slower and introverted.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s playing that is utterly at odds with current conventional treatment of the piece.<\/p>\n
But this was not some wilful or eccentric caprice on Lancaster\u2019s part. On the contrary, what we were listening to was the product of years \u2013 decades \u2013 searching for musical truth \u2013 and offered with an authority born of the most detailed research.<\/p>\n
For those with access to the very first recordings made by pianists in the early years of last century \u2013 many of these are now available – it may well be instructive, even revelatory, to discover how similar to Lancaster\u2019s keyboard approach to Fur Elise some of these very early recordings are. Careful listening to these will show how much in evidence this elasticity of the beat the playing of the era was, how frequently hands were not precisely in accord with one another. There\u2019s a mood of extemporisation to much of it.<\/p>\n
But within a remarkably short period after those first recordings being made available, this manner of performance was to vanish almost completely to be replaced by the far stricter treatment of rhythm and hand co-ordination that we now take for granted. And \u00a0Lancaster is at the forefront of those bringing back that style into play (no pun intended). It\u2019s too early to tell whether it will ultimately prevail.<\/p>\n
It takes considerable courage to place so drastic an alteration to the status quo before the public. It\u2019s an initiative that can so easily backfire courtesy of those who won\u2019t hear (no pun intended) of so drastic a change to the status quo. It\u2019s the music equivalent of an earthquake.<\/p>\n
We also listened to Beethoven\u2019s Rondos opus 51. These are great favourites with earnest young piano pupils at local eisteddfodau. But, again, as in Lancaster\u2019s treatment of Fur Elise, there was authority in every measure as we were taken back in time to listen to music as those in Beethoven\u2019s time might well have experienced it. Sonata in C minor from opus 10 (most of the program consisted of music in either C major or C Minor) was frankly fascinating; it was if we were hearing it for the very first time \u2013 and as Beethoven himself might have wanted it to sound.<\/p>\n
James Huntingford played, inter alia, the Waldstein sonata, music that is no-man\u2019s-land for any other than musicians with complete physical mastery of the instrument. I especially admired the closing pages of the first movement, given magical treatment, the sound reaching the ear as if through layers of fine gauze. It called to mind Moiseiwitch\u2019s unforgettable 78rpm recording for HMV made during the 1950s.. \u00a0The Pathetique sonata, too, fell well on the ear. Its lengthy adagio introduction could hardly have been bettered. \u00a0On the evidence of this performance, Huntingford is clearly a fortepianist on the rise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WAAPA Music Auditorium reviewed by Neville Cohn Prior to the performance at WAAPA Auditorium on Saturday, how many concertgoers, I wondered, would have realised that the opening item on the program, listed as Bagatelle in A minor, was,\u00a0 in fact,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[18,17,155,175,176,177],"class_list":["post-108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-performance","tag-chon","tag-cohn","tag-fur-elise","tag-geoffrey-lancaster","tag-james-huntingford","tag-waapa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Yv33-1K","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":236,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/mozart-sonatas-k570-k282-k333\/","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":0},"title":"MOZART: Sonatas K570, K282 & K333","author":"reviewer","date":"March 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Geoffrey Lancaster (fortepiano)\u2019 Tall Poppies TP260 reviewed by Neville Cohn As I listened to fortepianist Geoffrey Lancaster\u2019s recently released compact disc recording devoted to three of Mozart\u2019s keyboard sonatas, I wondered how some of my colleagues would respond to his approach to these works. For those for whom a strict,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lancaster playing Mozart in Hong Kong last year","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/image1-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/image1-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/image1-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/image1-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/image1-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":101,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/frederic-chopin-poet-of-the-piano\/","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":1},"title":"Frederic Chopin: Poet of the Piano","author":"reviewer","date":"June 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Anna Sleptsova (piano)\/Louise McKay (cello) WAAPA classical piano students WAAPA Music Auditorium reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 For many, if not most, concertgoers, Chopin is thought of exclusively in relation to\u00a0 works for piano, whether solo or as concertos. But the great Polish composer also wrote a number of chamber\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":161,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/defying-gravity\/","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":2},"title":"Defying Gravity","author":"reviewer","date":"September 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"WAAPA Music Auditorium reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 It is one of Western Australia\u2019s most meaningful musical success stories. For years. Defying Gravity has brought performances of the highest order to invariably full houses. This is a particularly remarkable achievement in that, firstly, the performers are still students and, secondly,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_6873-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":94,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/eileen-joyce-the-complete-studio-recordings\/","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":3},"title":"Eileen Joyce \u2013 The Complete Studio Recordings","author":"reviewer","date":"June 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"DECCA 482 6291\u00a0 (10 CDs) reviewed by Neville Cohn I was a junior school boy when Eileen Joyce came to Cape Town and I still recall the thrill of hearing the great Australian pianist playing Beethoven\u2019s Fur Elise as an encore \u2013 and her predilection for wearing a different gown\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recordings - CDs"","block_context":{"text":"Recordings - CDs","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/recordings-cds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eileen Joyce","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/T1619_Eileen-Joyce-Australian-pianist-230x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":181,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/royal-schools-music-club\/","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":4},"title":"Royal Schools Music Club","author":"reviewer","date":"October 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Fiddling with Castanets: Deanna Blacher (castanets)\/ Neville Cohn (piano) Callaway Auditorium reviewed by John Meyer \u00a0 \u00a0 Following on from their very successful concert last year, Deanna Blacher and Neville Cohn again combined their remarkable talents in an entertaining October recital entitled Fiddling with Castanets.\u00a0 The programme consisted of piano\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Low-Res_MareeLaffanPhoto_UWA-Recital_2018-10-14-34-300x255.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":42,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/w-a-symphony-orchestra-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":5},"title":"W.A. Symphony Orchestra","author":"reviewer","date":"October 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 Vaughan Williams\u2019 Fifth Symphony is seldom heard in this neck of the woods. Prior to the weekend, its most recent performance here was as far back as 1999 when Vernon Handley presided over events. It\u2019s a very welcome return. 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