Stephen de Pledge Recital Wednesday the 6th of April – New Zealand International Piano Festival. Once again the bar was raised and the accolades flowed following Stephen de Pledge’s recital last night. This was most definitely a performance of two halves with the Chopin and Brahms highlighting Stephen’s trademark sensitivity and musicianship in the first half followed by the NZ Landscape Preludes in the second.
Whilst the prospect of contemporary music (even worse NZ composed music) may have been off putting for some; these are a set of works which are destined for greatness in the New Zealand music scene. Having only heard four of the preludes prior, I was amazed at how well these pieces by twelve separate composers worked together. Stephen has experimented with the order for some time to develop a flow which enables the audience as (as well as the performer) to better access the music.
Personal favourites for me would have to be the John Psathas and Victoria Kelly pieces but I loved them all and am looking forward to Stephen’s recording later in the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment