AN OUTSTANDING EVENING

It was followed by William Sterndale Bennett's Capriccio Op 11 No 2 from Etudes in the Form of Capriccios -- a delightful surprise to me, as I mainly associated the composer's solo piano music on CD with Malcolm Binns, who I wish had been in attendance. What a delightful sense of touch the pianist possesses. This requirement is typical of Juilliard trained pianists, who are encouraged to explore unusual repertoire. Schumann's Etudes Symphoniques has been played by many artists I have listened to over the last year. So special, here, were the gradations of tone, and those wonderful old-fashioned rubatos. It reminded me of Claudio Arrau, at the height of his performing powers. Without concerning herself with the posthumous variations, which, strictly speaking, do not belong, each section dovetailed with the next, to give that feeling of cogency, as the composer (and Clara) wished. The Sterndale Bennett and the Schumann were dovetailed, Rorianne informed her audience from the keyboard, and I conjured up a setting for an informal Friday evening's entertainment with drinks available on order! There were a few 'glitches' en route, due to the excitement of the occasion.

Ravel's Valses Nobles et Sentimentales came after the interval. Some dustings of the keys and moppings of the brow, and Rorianne was on her way. She described it in the programme as one of the most beautiful works in her repertory -- it was a peach of a performance. Following on directly came Liszt's Soirée de Vienne No 6, after Schubert -- a favourite of Edith Farnadi. It could hardly have sounded better, exuding grace and charm, with fleeting fingerwork in every bar. Then, the Grand Finale -- the same composer's Waltz from Gounod's Faust. I have never heard it played so wonderfully, except by the late György Cziffra, at his only Royal Festival Hall London solo recital. An encore was clearly out of place, the audience already spoilt for choice. Afterwards, we all vacated the main hall for the Artist Green Room, where I was encouraged to see so many of her friends and admirers.